Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 5.3% – Here’s What Happened

Posted by Geri Gentry on May 18th, 2026

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report)’s stock price was down 5.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $408.09 and last traded at $413.57. Approximately 8,222,778 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 7,387,261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $436.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised their price target on Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $463.89.

View Our Latest Research Report on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.3%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $379.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $320.06. The firm has a market cap of $328.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 17.28%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.