Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report)’s share price dropped 6.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $622.00 and last traded at $626.84. 27,465,281 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 242% from the average daily volume of 8,033,927 shares. The stock had previously closed at $668.00.
Applied Materials News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled new chipmaking systems aimed at DRAM and advanced packaging, potentially boosting demand from AI infrastructure customers and reinforcing its leadership in semiconductor equipment. Applied Materials Introduces New Systems to Accelerate DRAM and Advanced Packaging for AI Chips
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with analysts citing Applied Materials’ strong market position and continued confidence in its growth outlook. AMAT stock gets thumbs up from Wall Street – analysts remain confident about Applied Materials’ strong market position
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Applied Materials’ event as especially relevant to DRAM and advanced packaging, suggesting the company is well positioned to benefit from AI-driven chip demand. Applied Materials’ event focuses on DRAM, and advanced packaging: analysts
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is being framed as a key AI-chip infrastructure winner, with new tools designed to improve memory speed, yield, and packaging efficiency. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Turns Heads With AI Chip Systems
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.19.
Applied Materials Stock Performance
The firm has a market capitalization of $497.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $468.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $375.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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.
Further Reading
- Five stocks we like better than Applied Materials
- Rocket Lab’s NASA Win Tests Key Support After Sharp Pullback
- AST SpaceMobile Just Nailed a Major Launch—So Why Is the Stock Crashing?
- Palantir’s Valuation Problem Just Met 2 New Growth Catalysts
- Xcel Energy Stock Offers Stability as Electricity Demand Builds
Receive News & Ratings for Applied Materials Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Applied Materials and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
