Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report)’s share price was down 3.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $488.55 and last traded at $496.17. 6,540,629 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 8,263,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $514.33.
Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: AI-driven demand remains a major catalyst. JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating and said semiconductor systems revenue could grow approximately 40% this year, with AI-related spending representing a large share of chip-equipment demand. Applied Materials Sees Years Of AI-Fueled Growth Ahead
- Positive Sentiment: Advanced packaging and memory opportunities support the outlook. New equipment launches position Applied Materials to benefit from high-bandwidth memory production, advanced packaging and foundry capacity expansions. Can Applied Materials Sustain Its Growth Amid AI-Driven Demand?
- Positive Sentiment: Broker sentiment remains favorable. Berenberg issued a Buy rating, while aggregated analyst recommendations continue to support adding AMAT to portfolios. However, the reports also caution that sell-side ratings can be overly optimistic. Applied Materials Receives a Buy from Berenberg Bank
- Neutral Sentiment: Strong quarterly results have not translated into sustained momentum. Applied Materials reported record fiscal third-quarter revenue of $9.12 billion, up 25% year over year, and exceeded earnings expectations. Its above-consensus fourth-quarter guidance was also strong, but investors may have already priced in much of the improvement. Applied Materials Delivered a Record Quarter. The Stock Fell Anyway
- Negative Sentiment: High valuation and investor skepticism are weighing on the shares. With AMAT trading at a premium earnings multiple, some investors question whether AI-led growth can justify expectations. Dr. Michael Burry reportedly holds a bearish position, and Paul Tudor Jones liquidated his common-stock stake while increasing put exposure—signals that some sophisticated investors expect volatility or downside. Paul Tudor Jones Just Liquidated His Entire Stake in Applied Materials Stock
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group set a $675.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.83.
Applied Materials Stock Down 0.8%
The firm has a market cap of $390.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $564.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $450.76.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.
Insider Activity at Applied Materials
In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 277,820 shares of company stock valued at $169,538,434 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake 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 valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
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