Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report)’s share price fell 6.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $452.81 and last traded at $464.24. 10,668,533 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 36% from the average daily volume of 7,863,136 shares. The stock had previously closed at $497.53.
Applied Materials News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials outlined an optimistic multi-year outlook at its SEMICON West investor presentation, targeting more than two percentage points of wafer-fabrication-equipment market-share gains by 2030. Management also expects eBeam equipment revenue to reach $2 billion in 2026 and semiconductor-services revenue to exceed $12 billion by 2030. Applied Materials Set to Outperform as AI Drives Sustained Demand for Wafer Fab Equipment
- Positive Sentiment: The company opened its EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, a planned $5 billion collaborative research facility intended to accelerate chipmaking advances for AI, advanced packaging and next-generation semiconductor processes. The center includes commitments from chipmakers, equipment partners and universities. Applied Materials Unveils $5 Billion EPIC Center
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains constructive: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and $650 price target, while Erste Group modestly raised its FY2027 earnings estimate to $18.59 per share. Applied Materials also continues to expand partnerships, including work with Intel on transistors, interconnects and packaging.
- Neutral Sentiment: The EPIC Center and automation strategy could improve long-term growth, but the scale of the investment and the company’s plan to grow revenue without proportional hiring may increase execution concerns.
- Negative Sentiment: Near-term pressure is being driven by broad semiconductor weakness: the South Korean KOSPI fell sharply, prompting declines in chip stocks including Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA. Investors are also locking in gains after a substantial AI-driven rally.
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation is amplifying the selloff. Applied Materials trades near 40 times earnings, leaving the stock vulnerable to concerns that AI-related capital spending may slow or that expected growth is already reflected in the share price.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 price target (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $640.20.
Applied Materials Trading Down 6.7%
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $488.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $483.54. The firm has a market cap of $368.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.60.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.28%.
Insider Transactions at Applied Materials
In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. State Street Corp increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,512,287,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,246,876 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Applied Materials
Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.
The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.
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