Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Falls 3.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares fell 3.6% to $380.95, with trading volume about 9% above its average.
• The company beat quarterly estimates, reporting $4.16 in EPS and $10.41 billion in revenue, versus forecasts of $4.06 and $10.30 billion; Q1 2027 EPS guidance is $4.15–$4.55.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and an average $625.76 price target, though chip-equipment sector weakness and concerns about China demand and AI orders have weighed on the stock.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was down 3.6% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $376.09 and last traded at $380.95. 8,654,606 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 7,926,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $395.08.

Key Applied Materials News

Investors following AMAT have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC reaffirmed its Buy rating ahead of earnings, pointing to potential upside after the recent selloff. HSBC says buy the dip
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts reportedly expect about $4.06 in Q4 EPS and $10.3 billion in revenue. Investors will focus on results versus those expectations, as well as DRAM and foundry demand and management’s fiscal 2027 outlook. Analyst forecasts ahead of earnings
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT has fallen sharply over the past month and remains well below its high. The broader chip-equipment selloff, Nvidia-related tech pressure, and concerns about China demand and AI-order strength have weighed on sentiment; analysts have also trimmed some price targets and fair-value estimates. What Applied Materials’ earnings need to prove

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. New Street Research decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $710.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Evercore set a $590.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $563.00 to $538.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $625.76.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $440.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $445.52. The company has a market capitalization of $302.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company's offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.

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