Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 4.1% – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price traded down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $246.92 and last traded at $248.27. 7,687,749 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 7,620,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price target (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.48.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $196.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $238.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC grew 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. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 93,253 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 56,626 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,218,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 6.1% in the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,455 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $529,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.