Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 8.2% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price traded down 8.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company 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.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic investment expands AI and materials exposure. Applied Ventures, Applied Materials’ venture-capital arm, invested in Albert Invent, an AI platform for chemical and materials research. The deal could strengthen Applied’s exposure to software-enabled materials discovery and support longer-term innovation. Albert Invent Welcomes Applied Ventures as Investor
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst estimate revision was modestly favorable. Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS forecast to $18.67 from $18.59, although it maintained a “Hold” rating. The increase suggests some confidence in Applied Materials’ longer-term earnings outlook. Erste Group estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related semiconductor investment remains a growth catalyst. Advanced logic, DRAM and advanced-packaging spending is supporting the company’s Semiconductor Systems business, with potential benefits to revenue growth and margins. Can Semiconductor Systems Drive AMAT’s Next Growth Phase?
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF demand provided a technical-support signal. Reports indicated approximately $102.1 million of net ETF buying in Applied Materials, suggesting continued institutional interest, though ETF flows do not necessarily change the company’s fundamentals. Applied Materials Sees $102.1 Million in Net ETF Buying
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2026 results are scheduled for November 12. The upcoming earnings report will be an important catalyst for assessing demand, margins and management’s outlook. Applied Materials to Report Fourth-Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Lam Research’s outlook pressured the entire equipment group. Lam’s comments that its outlook would be only “a bit higher,” alongside supply constraints, triggered concerns that growth may not accelerate as quickly as expected. Applied Materials and other chip-equipment stocks declined in sympathy. Applied Materials Sinks on Lam’s Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Relative analysis favors Lam Research. Analysts cited stronger memory growth and customer-support momentum at Lam, giving it an edge over Applied Materials in the wafer-fabrication-equipment market and potentially limiting AMAT’s near-term appeal. AMAT vs. LRCX: Which Stock Has an Edge?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore set a $590.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Craig Hallum increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $467.37 and a 200-day moving average of $486.93. The firm has a market cap of $299.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 8.9% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,484 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,873,000 after buying an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Investment Management raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Investment Management now owns 3,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 2,413 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 122.9% in the 3rd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 126,380 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $64,628,000 after acquiring an additional 69,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.