Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 5.9% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares fell about 5.9% to roughly $381 on Tuesday, trading at ~41% higher volume than average after closing the prior session at $404.86.
• The drop was driven by a broader semiconductor sell-off tied to reports of OpenAI missing growth targets and newly announced U.S. export restrictions that could curb shipments to China’s Hua Hong, raising near‑term revenue and order risks for equipment suppliers including AMAT.
• Offsetting factors include an earnings beat (EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21), multiple analyst upgrades and a consensus “Moderate Buy,” plus strategic positives like an Advantest partnership, strong institutional buying and a raised quarterly dividend to $0.53.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $377.80 and last traded at $381.1730. 10,222,967 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 7,268,988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $404.86.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnership with Advantest — Applied’s EPIC platform added Advantest and opened an Innovation Center to accelerate front-end to back-end testing integration, which could strengthen AMAT’s competitive moat and long-term AI/HPC content. Advantest EPIC tie-up
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/broker sentiment supportive — Several brokerage notes and aggregate recommendations highlight AMAT as a buy, which can provide buying interest once volatility subsides. Brokers Suggest Investing in AMAT
• Positive Sentiment: Recent upgrade — Erste Group upgraded AMAT from hold to buy, a catalyst that can attract flows from funds and investors tracking analyst actions. Erste upgrade (Finviz summary)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector ETF and macro context — Coverage noting SOXX and broader semiconductor ETF dynamics is useful for gauging whether AMAT moves with sector flows versus stock-specific drivers. SOXX ETF analysis
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI miss sparks AI-chip pullback — Reports that OpenAI missed growth targets triggered a broad sell-off in AI-exposed chip suppliers, directly pressuring AMAT as investors reprice near-term AI demand. OpenAI drag on chip stocks
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. export restrictions target Hua Hong — The Commerce Department ordered some equipment firms to halt shipments to China’s Hua Hong to slow advanced node progress; Applied is named among impacted suppliers, raising near-term revenue and order-risk concerns for China-facing business. US orders halt shipments to Hua Hong
• Negative Sentiment: Broader semiconductor sell-off — Multiple outlets report AMAT sliding on sector weakness and US-China AI tensions; market risk-off amplifies declines even though AMAT recently beat earnings. Benzinga: AMAT slide explained
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage reiterates geopolitical risk — Additional reports emphasize US-China AI conflict as a recurring downgrade risk for equipment suppliers, keeping investor caution elevated until clarity on export scope and customer impact arrives. US-China AI conflict coverage

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.9%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $303.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market cap of $302.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by 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.

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