Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares fell 3.2% to $454.01 in Thursday trading, with volume about 40% below the average daily level.
• Despite the decline, analysts remain bullish: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $658.45, substantially above its latest price.
• The company recently beat quarterly estimates, reporting $3.50 in EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, with revenue up 24.8% year over year. However, insiders have sold more than $146 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) were down 3.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $450.56 and last traded at $454.01. 4,832,154 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 8,076,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $468.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $740.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $658.45.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $360.30 billion, a PE ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $519.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $463.43.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,114,059 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Applied Materials by 70,976.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 870,192,678 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $629,149,306,000 after buying an additional 868,968,380 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted 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 worth $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.

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