Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 4% – Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) dropped 4% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $373.25 and last traded at $374.53. 7,728,712 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 7,880,067 shares. The stock had previously closed at $390.09.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: ETFs purchased $237 million of AMAT on November 2, with 51 funds buying versus 26 selling. Capital Group Dividend Value also added $146.3 million in shares, signaling institutional interest during the pullback. ETFs Bought $237.0 Million of Applied Materials Capital Group Dividend Value Buys More AMAT
• Positive Sentiment: A recent investment analysis cited 41% growth in adjusted EPS, 52% growth in DRAM revenue, and raised revenue guidance. Continued investment in capacity and hybrid-bonding technology may help AMAT benefit from semiconductor demand. Did Earnings Growth Just Shift Applied Materials’ Investment Narrative?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target from $563 to $538 and maintained an Equal Weight/Hold view. The target remains well above the quoted share price, but the reduction and neutral rating reflect caution about execution risks. Applied Materials: Promising Demand Offset by Execution Risks
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT has lost nearly 29% over the past month, and its November 12 earnings report is viewed as a key test of whether results can stabilize the stock or prolong the selloff. Applied Materials’ November Earnings Test
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-wide ETF selling and concerns triggered in part by Intel’s forecast have weighed on chip stocks, potentially overshadowing AMAT’s company-specific growth. Applied Materials’ Investment Narrative and Sector Pressure

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. New Street Research dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.01.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.3%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $451.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $444.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.01, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm 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 revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the sale, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Applied Materials by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,576,932,000 after buying an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.