Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3.1% – Time to Sell?

by · The Markets Daily

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) was down 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $232.93 and last traded at $233.53. Approximately 9,168,309 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 21% from the average daily volume of 7,603,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Cfra Research raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Summit Insights lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.96.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $205.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market capitalization of $183.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 19.4% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 94,619 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,731,000 after buying an additional 15,377 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 9.4% in the first quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the first quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 22,390 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,362,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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