Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 5.1% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price was down 5.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $497.10 and last traded at $507.18. 12,529,027 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 52% from the average session volume of 8,247,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $534.54.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.17.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.1%

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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $564.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $444.89. The stock has a market cap of $402.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.58% and a net margin of 30.05%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. 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 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $27,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $41,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 34.8% in 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. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. 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.