Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 1.5% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares fell 1.5% after CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares worth about $116,371, a relatively small insider transaction that still pressured the stock intraday.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on AMAT, with 27 Buy ratings and eight Hold ratings, plus a consensus price target of $466.52 despite mixed recent calls.
• The company’s fundamentals and outlook remain strong: Applied Materials beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, raised its fiscal Q3 revenue outlook, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.5% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $441.12 and last traded at $448.25. Approximately 5,041,740 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 7,332,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $454.89.

Specifically, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $502.00 target price (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $466.52.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials benefited from a favorable comparison versus KLA in a recent analyst-style piece, which said AMAT has an edge in the AI chip equipment race thanks to broader exposure across semiconductor technologies and stronger growth expectations. KLA vs. Applied Materials: Which Chip Equipment Stock Wins Now?
• Positive Sentiment: The company recently lifted its fiscal Q3 revenue outlook and reported better-than-expected Q2 results, reinforcing investor confidence that demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment remains strong. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 11.8% After Raising Q3 Outlook And Expanding AI Packaging Alliance
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials also announced a new partnership with SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions to advance wafer cleaning technologies at its EPIC Center, a move that could improve yields and support next-generation chip development. Applied Materials Partners with SCREEN To Bring Advanced Wafer Cleaning Technologies to EPIC Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling by CAO Adam Sanders was small in scale and is unlikely to be a major concern for investors on its own. Applied Materials NASDAQ: AMAT CAO Sells $116,370.96 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: A broader market note warned that momentum stocks can reverse after sharp runs, which may act as a caution flag for AMAT after its recent strong performance. Intel, AMD, and Other Momentum Stocks Look Unstoppable. Look Again.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $391.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.61. The company has a market capitalization of $355.89 billion, a PE ratio of 42.09, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Applied Materials

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.