JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $660.00 to $500.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 35.37% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Applied Materials from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $590.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.23.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $11.58 on Friday, reaching $369.37. The stock had a trading volume of 6,322,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,920,787. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a market cap of $293.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $439.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $445.83. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $203.40 and a 1-year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New World Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 15.7% in the third quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.1% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 724,320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $370,403,000 after purchasing an additional 41,532 shares during the period. 49 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $1,123,000. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,693,000. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,309 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,249,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

Here are a few of the latest stories about AMAT:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 revenue reached a record $10.41 billion, up 53% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS rose 92% to $4.16; both exceeded analyst estimates. Management also forecast Q1 revenue of $10.6 billion–$11.6 billion, above consensus. Applied Materials Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven demand supports the outlook: Applied expects Semiconductor Systems growth above 40% in calendar 2026 and sees chip-equipment market growth exceeding 30% in 2027. The company returned $2.42 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks in Q4. AI demand and growth outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analysts cut price targets after the report, citing sector multiple compression, even as most retained Buy or Overweight ratings. Summit Insights downgraded AMAT to Hold. The target reductions and broader chip-equipment selloff are weighing on sentiment despite the beat-and-raise results. Analyst target cuts

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.