Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 1.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Applied Materials has strong analyst support with 27 Buy and 7 Hold ratings, several recent upgrades and raised targets (e.g., TD Cowen to $450, Goldman Sachs to $390), and a consensus target of $368.29 indicating a "Moderate Buy."
• The company beat expectations in its most recent quarter with EPS of $2.38 versus $2.21 expected and revenue of $7.01 billion versus $6.88 billion, and it issued Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $2.44–$2.84.
• Applied Materials raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12) while insiders have recently sold shares (including the CFO), and institutional investors own about 80.56% of the stock.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) traded down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $386.20 and last traded at $389.08. 4,547,606 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 7,208,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $394.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $308.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $368.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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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