Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 4.7% – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price dropped 4.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $530.01 and last traded at $536.25. 6,057,719 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 8,254,339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $562.80.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was highlighted as a safer bet than a peer in advanced packaging thanks to its AI-related packaging exposure, broad chipmaking portfolio, and high-margin services business. AMAT vs. Q: Which Advanced Packaging Stock is a Safer Bet Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Applied Materials to post double-digit earnings growth in its next quarterly report, which could support sentiment heading into the August release. What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Broader AI enthusiasm continues to drive semiconductor demand, keeping AMAT on investors’ radar as a beneficiary of ongoing chip-industry capital spending. AI Optimism Powers Semiconductor Demand: 3 Solid Funds to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced it will report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 13, keeping attention on the company’s near-term fundamentals and guidance. Applied Materials to Report Fiscal Third Quarter 2026 Results on Aug. 13, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing AMAT with other semiconductor names and citing the broader AI infrastructure buildout reinforces the stock’s place in the sector, but does not introduce a new company-specific catalyst. Billionaire Investor Philippe Laffont’s Top 5 Tech Picks

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.84.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.7%

The stock has a market cap of $425.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $542.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $422.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,984,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,537,913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,635,284 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.