Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) dropped 3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $567.65 and last traded at $568.23. Approximately 10,553,746 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the average daily volume of 7,583,215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $585.78.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a long-term joint development deal with EssilorLuxottica to accelerate augmented reality optics and AI-powered smart glasses, opening a new growth avenue beyond traditional chip equipment demand. Article: EssilorLuxottica and Applied Materials Join Forces to Advance Augmented Reality Optics Platforms for Next-Generation Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: The company also unveiled new deposition and selective etch systems aimed at advancing 3D chip scaling, which could support AI chip manufacturing demand and reinforce its leadership in semiconductor equipment. Article: Applied Materials Unveils Deposition and Selective Etch Systems to Advance 3D Chip Scaling
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials has also been helped by higher price targets from analysts, including Barclays, which raised its target and kept an Overweight rating, signaling continued confidence in wafer fab equipment spending. Article: Applied Materials (AMAT) Gets Higher Price Targets from Barclays and Cantor Fitzgerald
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces point to the stock’s strong recent run and suggest it may be extended after a sharp rebound, which could lead to near-term volatility as traders debate whether the move is sustainable. Article: Buy, Hold, or Sell: Applied Materials Surged Right Back Toward $500 Following a Brutal June Flush. Here’s Where I’d Buy
• Negative Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha headline says Applied Materials’ valuation tops the dot-com peak, which may weigh on shares by reinforcing concerns that the stock is trading at a stretched valuation after its big rally. Article: Applied Materials valuation tops dot-com peak

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho raised their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $483.03.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $431.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $355.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $451.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.35, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,901,331.18. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.