Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Downgraded by Erste Group Bank to "Hold"

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials to “Hold” from “Buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $603.23.
• Shares fell to $535.14 during Wednesday trading, although the company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.86 in EPS and $7.91 billion in revenue.
• Company insiders have sold 278,088 shares worth approximately $169.7 million over the past three months, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the stock.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Erste Group Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AMAT. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $603.23.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $11.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $535.14. 1,508,628 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,245,797. The firm has a market cap of $424.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.25, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $554.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The company'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, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake 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 buying an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% in the 4th 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 valued at $2,746,769,000 after buying an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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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