Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares fell 4% to $374.53 in Monday trading, with volume roughly in line with its average session.
• Despite the decline, analysts remain broadly bullish: 30 rate the stock Buy and nine rate it Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $632.70.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $3.50 EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 24.8% year over year.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) shares fell 4% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $373.25 and last traded at $374.53. Approximately 7,728,712 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 7,880,067 shares. The stock had previously closed at $390.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $605.00 price objective (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price target (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.0%

The firm has a market cap of $297.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's fifty day moving average is $457.66 and its 200-day moving average is $443.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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. 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 currently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $57,993,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during 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 lifted its position in Applied Materials by 16.2% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 1,073,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $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 technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company's offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.

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