Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares traded down 1.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $384.30 and last traded at $389.90. 5,098,007 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 7,425,133 shares. The stock had previously closed at $394.26.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley raised its price target to $485 and reiterated a Buy, which supports upside expectations and likely helped near-term demand for the stock. B. Riley Financial Boosts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $485.00
• Positive Sentiment: Applied rolled out two new tools aimed at 2nm AI and HPC chips (Precision Selective Nitride PECVD and Trillium ALD), reinforcing its addressable market in advanced-node equipment. Applied Materials (AMAT) Rolls Out New Tools for 2nm AI and HPC Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Yahoo report that Elon Musk’s Terafab team has contacted chip-equipment suppliers including Applied, signaling a potential large new demand source if that project proceeds. Musk’s staff reaches out to suppliers for Terafab project, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum picked up recently—AMAT was up sharply over the last week, attracting momentum investors and amplifying flows into the stock. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 14.64% in One Week: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces flag a growing DRAM/data-center opportunity that could lift equipment demand over time, but this is a multi-quarter/longer-term driver rather than an immediate revenue guarantee. Is Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) a top data center stock amid burgeoning DRAM opportunity?
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive industry signals — e.g., TSMC’s upbeat outlook — support equipment demand broadly, which is indirectly favorable for AMAT but not a company-specific catalyst. Stocks to Watch: TSMC, PepsiCo, Netflix
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks comparison argues NVIDIA is a better buy given its data-center dominance and valuation edge, which could pull investor capital away from AMAT and pressure relative performance. NVDA vs. AMAT: Which Semiconductor Stock is a Better Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: ASML’s valuation premium versus U.S. equipment peers has compressed to decade lows, highlighting shifting relative valuations that could create headwinds or rotation within the equipment group. ASML valuation gap with US peers hits decade low

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $356.68 and a 200 day moving average of $292.64. The firm has a market cap of $309.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.91, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.