Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Needham & Company LLC

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price reduced by Needham & Company LLC from $740.00 to $580.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $710.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $409.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $324.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $480.52 and a 200-day moving average of $486.23. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $203.40 and a 12-month high of $739.67.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after acquiring an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $5,252,863,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $1,512,287,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened its $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, described as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and process-technology research facility. The investment should strengthen the company’s ability to develop equipment for advanced chips and capitalize on long-term AI and semiconductor capacity growth. Applied Materials opens $5B semiconductor innovation center
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lowered its Applied Materials price target from $740 to $580 but maintained a “buy” rating, indicating that the recent pullback has created what the firm considers meaningful upside. Other recent commentary also highlights AMAT’s broad equipment portfolio and strategic position in semiconductor manufacturing.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether the current decline could offer an attractive entry point. Historical rebounds after sharp selloffs, continued semiconductor capacity expansion, and expectations for a sales recovery support the longer-term bullish case. Has Buying Applied Materials Stock’s Dips Paid Off?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is mixed: some reports identify Applied Materials as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price opportunity, while others present a more cautious view of technology stocks. ETF activity has also been inconsistent, with 31 funds adding AMAT on October 13 but ETFs collectively selling shares on October 14.
• Negative Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks are recording unusually long losing streaks as investors question whether AI-related spending can continue at its current pace. Those sector-wide concerns are currently outweighing the potential benefits of the new research center and are contributing to AMAT’s decline. Chip Equipment Stocks Notch Historic Losing Streaks

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.