Erste Group Bank Downgrades Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) to Hold

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was downgraded by Erste Group Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on AMAT. UBS Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.23.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.1%

Applied Materials stock traded down $11.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $535.14. 1,508,628 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,245,797. The company has a market cap of $424.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $554.42 and a 200-day moving average of $434.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 218.8% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Applied Materials

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.