Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 8.3% – Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price fell 8.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $337.53 and last traded at $338.55. 9,200,149 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the average session volume of 7,854,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $369.34.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1/FY results and corporate actions — Applied reported record DRAM equipment revenue and unveiled new tools for advanced nodes, plus a 15% quarterly dividend increase, which underline strong execution and shareholder returns. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Structural tailwinds — Analysts note HBM (high-bandwidth memory) and advanced packaging demand tied to AI chips as meaningful revenue growth drivers for AMAT’s tool portfolio. These end-markets support multi-year demand visibility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Policy and supply-chain support — U.S. and allied semiconductor supply-chain initiatives plus logistics partnerships (e.g., expanded Asia distribution) increase the odds of greater capital spending and easier deployment for equipment suppliers like AMAT. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/valuation comparison — Analyst coverage shows both ASML and AMAT favored by many analysts, but ASML’s EUV monopoly commands a premium valuation; that differentiation frames relative upside expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting appears unreliable in recent feeds (odd zero/share entries); no clear large short-squeeze pressure evident from the published data. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-level weakness / valuation pressure — Tech ETFs and large-cap tech names have lagged despite earnings beats; broad rotation out of tech and concerns about stretched valuations are weighing on AMAT alongside peers. This sector drag helps explain downward price pressure even with strong company results. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst signals — A recent note listing AMAT as “hold” from one shop (Erste via Zacks feed) muddies the street’s message (some bullish, some cautious), which can amplify short-term selling after a rally. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Down 8.3%

The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $344.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.54. The company has a market cap of $268.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.