Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 2.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Erste Group Bank downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $530.57 and last traded at $534.24. 5,051,443 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 8,260,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $546.62.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks and ETFs have recently rallied on strong AI demand, expectations for upcoming earnings and improving memory-market conditions. This sector momentum could support spending on Applied Materials’ equipment, services and software. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s average brokerage recommendation remains equivalent to a Buy, although the usefulness of consensus ratings may be limited because sell-side analysts can be slow to adjust their views. Applied Materials’ latest reported quarter also exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue increasing year over year. Wall Street Analysts See Applied Materials as a Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials recently outperformed the broader market in a trading session, reflecting continued investor interest in semiconductor-equipment companies, but the move does not by itself change the company’s fundamentals. Applied Materials Outperforms Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry has reportedly shorted Applied Materials along with other large technology stocks and warned of a potential 1987-style market selloff. The high-profile bearish call is increasing scrutiny of AMAT and may encourage profit-taking in richly valued chip stocks, even though Burry’s views are not a company-specific earnings forecast. Applied Materials Faces Fresh Scrutiny After Michael Burry Short Bet
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank AG downgraded Applied Materials from “Buy” to “Hold,” adding a more cautious institutional view and countering the broader analyst consensus. Finviz rating report

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 2.1% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 0.7% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.2% during the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,040 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $554.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $434.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $424.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

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.