Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3.8% – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price was down 3.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $445.54 and last traded at $446.63. Approximately 8,453,671 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 7% from the average session volume of 7,867,087 shares. The stock had previously closed at $464.24.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see substantial upside. RBC reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating and set a $600 price target, while Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an $850 target. The broader analyst consensus implies roughly 39% potential upside, supported by positive earnings-estimate revisions. Wall Street analyst outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure initiatives strengthen the long-term growth story. Applied Materials launched its approximately $5 billion EPIC semiconductor R&D center, with Intel, Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung and other partners expected to collaborate on next-generation chip technologies. The company also invested in Flexcompute’s physics-modeling AI platform to accelerate chip and materials development. Applied Materials EPIC center announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Demand indicators remain favorable. Management expects to gain more than two percentage points of semiconductor-equipment market share by 2030, grow e-beam equipment revenue to $2 billion in 2026 and exceed $12 billion in semiconductor-services revenue by 2030. RBC characterized the company’s 2030 margin targets as conservative relative to potential demand. Applied Materials long-term outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials has delivered five consecutive earnings beats, including recent revenue growth of nearly 25% year over year. However, its valuation near 39 times earnings leaves the stock sensitive to any sign that AI-driven capital spending or future growth could slow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor Day guidance disappointed some shareholders. Reports indicated that the 2030 outlook was viewed as uncertain or insufficiently ambitious, and an omission from the presentation was interpreted by some investors as a possible sell signal. The reaction overshadowed the company’s strong AI-demand commentary. Why Applied Materials declined
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly sold off amid profit-taking after a strong year, weakness in Asian technology markets and uncertainty ahead of U.S. inflation data. The sector pressure amplified AMAT’s decline and weakened near-term investor sentiment.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Evercore boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $354.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $486.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $484.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.9% in the second quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.0% in the second quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.