Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 4.9% – Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares traded down 4.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $366.54 and last traded at $375.72. 7,702,782 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 8,300,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $394.95.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and strong outlook — AMAT recently topped revenue and EPS estimates and issued solid Q2 guidance, reinforcing demand visibility for its advanced-node and packaging tools. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 5.3% After Strong Q1, Export Deal And 2nm Push – Has The Bull Case Changed?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target lifts — Morgan Stanley raised AMAT’s target (overweight) and other brokers have been increasing targets, supporting a higher valuation narrative for equipment makers. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: AI / memory tailwinds for equipment demand — Coverage highlights AMAT’s exposure to logic, DRAM, HBM and advanced packaging (GAA, hybrid bonding) that should sustain bookings and margins into 2026. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector/market tailwinds and volatility — broader tech and AI-related rotation lifted semicap names earlier this week, amplifying earnings-driven moves but also increasing short-term volatility. Stocks Settle Higher as AI Disruption Fears Ease
• Neutral Sentiment: Conference and company outreach — AMAT presented at SPIE Advanced Lithography (visibility benefit) and media pieces question valuation after a ~130% one?year surge — useful context but not immediate catalysts. AMAT Presents at 2026 SPIE Is It Too Late To Consider AMAT?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — recent Form 4 filings show sales by the CAO and a director (reductions ~10–12%), which can weigh on near?term sentiment even if routine. CAO Adam Sanders Form 4 Director Judy Bruner Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Peer weakness and headline-driven selling — stories highlighting falling shares across AMAT and other chip-equipment or storage names have pressured the stock amid broader profit-taking. MSN: Shares Are Falling — What You Need to Know

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $298.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $312.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,112 shares of company stock worth $3,660,532. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 15,629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $613,000. Tempo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $348,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $839,000. Finally, SG Trading Solutions LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $252,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.