Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Daiwa America

Key Points

• Daiwa America downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, which may impact investor sentiment.
• The company recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.48, exceeding analysts' expectations, and set its Q4 2025 guidance between $1.910 and $2.310 EPS.
• Currently, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $193.88 among 17 analysts.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Daiwa America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on AMAT. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.65 on Wednesday, reaching $162.49. 7,444,140 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,266,384. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The business's 50-day moving average is $183.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,125,265,000 after acquiring an additional 391,540 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,836,807,000 after acquiring an additional 407,282 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,635,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,525 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.