Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) were down 1.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $543.18 and last traded at $553.92. Approximately 4,926,047 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 8,300,885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $564.55.
Applied Materials News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was recently highlighted as a potential rebound candidate, suggesting some traders see technical support and room for a bounce after a multi-session pullback. History Says Applied Materials Stock Looks Ripe for Rebound
- Positive Sentiment: The company’s installed-base services business continues to grow, with Applied Global Services benefiting from higher fab utilization and generating more recurring revenue. Is AMAT’s Installed Base Business Built for Long-Term Growth?
- Positive Sentiment: Earlier strength was tied to industry news showing continued AI and data-center chip demand, which supports the outlook for semiconductor equipment makers like Applied Materials. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp boosted their target price 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, UBS Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.84.
Applied Materials Stock Down 1.9%
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 firm has a market cap of $439.79 billion, a PE ratio of 52.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $537.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.14.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.
Insider Activity at Applied Materials
In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Applied Materials
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during 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 buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,746,769,000 after buying an additional 1,558,749 shares during the last quarter. 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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