Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 13.6% – Time to Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares dropped 13.6% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $316.95 and last traded at $319.25. 16,899,644 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 114% from the average session volume of 7,891,003 shares. The stock had previously closed at $369.40.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: A rally in chip-equipment shares is lifting AMAT ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter results, scheduled for November 12. The sector move followed Lam Research’s announcement of a $25 billion share buyback. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Rise as Chip Equipment Rallies Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related equipment demand and growth in advanced packaging are cited as longer-term supports for Applied Materials, despite the recent pullback in chip stocks. Article: AMAT Shares Plunge 30% in a Month: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming results are a key near-term catalyst: investors will assess whether demand and equipment-spending expectations hold up in a more cautious investment environment. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Fall Before a Revenue Test
• Negative Sentiment: The rebound follows a sharp chip-stock sell-off, with investors worried that data-center spending could slow; weak Qualcomm guidance added to sector concerns. AMAT also recently faced pressure after an analyst downgrade. Article: Chip Stock Rout Deepens Article: Applied Materials Stock Falls After Analyst Downgrade

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $563.00 to $538.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.01.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $264.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $444.84 and its 200-day moving average is $444.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,576,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products.

The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world.