Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $723.00, but opened at $668.41. Applied Materials shares last traded at $682.9620, with a volume of 2,509,317 shares traded.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc and Cantor Fitzgerald both turned more constructive on Applied Materials, with KeyBanc lifting its price target and analysts highlighting upside ahead of the company’s upcoming earnings report. Why Applied Materials Shares Are Surging Monday
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts for AMAT, reinforcing expectations that earnings momentum remains strong. Applied Materials analyst estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI capex boom, with chipmakers continuing to spend on semiconductor equipment as AI infrastructure demand expands. Applied Materials Hits New All-Time Highs
• Positive Sentiment: Broader strength in semiconductor stocks and record highs across peers like Lam Research and ASML have also supported sentiment toward AMAT. Lam Research Stock, Chip Gear Peers Hit Record Highs

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.56.

Applied Materials Trading Down 8.6%

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $486.16 and its 200-day moving average is $384.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $524.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.