Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 2.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares fell 2.7% to $370.50 after JPMorgan cut its price target from $660 to $500, while maintaining an Overweight rating; trading volume was about 50% above average.
• Several analysts also lowered price targets, though the consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $589.23 target. Summit Insights downgraded the stock to Hold.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $10.41 billion and EPS of $4.16, both above estimates. Management’s outlook pointed to continued AI-driven demand and further growth in semiconductor systems.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) shares dropped 2.7% on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $660.00 to $500.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as low as $352.23 and last traded at $370.50. Approximately 11,892,488 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average daily volume of 7,944,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $380.95.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $470.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $520.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Twenty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $589.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

Here are a few of the latest headlines about AMAT:

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials reported record fiscal Q4 revenue of $10.41 billion, up 53% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $4.16, up 92%; both topped analyst estimates. Fiscal 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s outlook points to continued AI-led demand: Q1 revenue guidance of $10.6–$11.6 billion was above consensus, and the company expects Semiconductor Systems revenue to grow more than 40% in calendar 2026. It also sees another record year in 2027. AI demand and 2027 outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts generally maintained Buy or Overweight ratings after the report, but many lowered their price targets. Several revised targets still imply substantial upside from recent levels, suggesting optimism about the business remains alongside greater caution on valuation. Analyst target changes

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after acquiring an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,576,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $439.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $445.83. 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 market capitalization of $294.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The business had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

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.

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.