Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 8.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares fell 8.2% to $375.58, with trading volume 63% above its average, marking a sharp decline from the prior close of $408.94.
• Despite the selloff, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 30 Buy ratings, nine Holds, and an average price target of $632.70.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.50 in EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) traded down 8.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $375.16 and last traded at $375.58. 12,910,444 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 63% from the average daily volume of 7,898,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $408.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. 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 research note on Friday, August 14th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $298.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $469.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $487.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 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 $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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