Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 9.7% – Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) dropped 9.7% on Friday . The company traded as low as $452.91 and last traded at $453.01. Approximately 11,673,707 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 58% from the average daily volume of 7,399,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $501.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Argus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $407.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $341.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 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.