Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $592.79, but opened at $545.35. Applied Materials shares last traded at $538.6020, with a volume of 2,316,241 shares.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 (Strong Buy) momentum stock list for July 7, which may support investor interest in the name. Best Momentum Stock to Buy for July 7th
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Applied Materials to $647 from $502, signaling continued analyst confidence even though the firm kept an equal-weight rating. Applied Materials Given New $647.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs also lifted its target on AMAT to $645, helping drive a broader chip-stock rally earlier in the session. 2 Chip Stocks Driving Today’s Rally With Lofty Bull Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AI-related product momentum remains a theme after it unveiled the SENZ platform to speed smart-glasses development, reinforcing its positioning in AI-enabled hardware. Applied Materials Unveils AI-Powered SENZ Platform to Accelerate Smart Glasses Development
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted AMAT as a popular and “best stocks on the rise” candidate, but these pieces are largely sentiment-driven rather than tied to a specific new operational catalyst. Is Applied Materials One of the Best Stocks on the Rise to Invest In?
• Negative Sentiment: Chip stocks, including Applied Materials, were pressured by a broader semiconductor selloff after Samsung earnings triggered risk-off trading across the group. Intel and Applied Materials Dive 10%, AMD Craters 8% as Samsung Earnings Trigger Chip Selloff

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.65.

Applied Materials Stock Down 8.5%

The firm has a market cap of $430.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.88, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $499.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $391.80. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Applied Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,082,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $45,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.