Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Target Lowered at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $660.00 to $500.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AMAT. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Twenty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.23.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $370.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $437.91 and a 200-day moving average of $446.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.37% and a net margin of 29.29%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 18.28 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after acquiring an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,576,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,252,863,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

Investors following AMAT have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 revenue reached a record $10.41 billion, up 53% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS rose 92% to $4.16; both topped analysts’ estimates. The company also reported higher margins and returned $2.42 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Applied Materials Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s outlook points to continued momentum: it forecast Q1 revenue of $10.6 billion–$11.6 billion and expects Semiconductor Systems revenue to grow more than 40% in calendar 2026. AI-related chip demand and capacity investment are key drivers of the forecast. Applied Materials sees semiconductor systems growth above 40%
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said demand is running ahead of supply, but component shortages and customers’ limited clean-room capacity may constrain how quickly equipment deliveries can scale. China is expected to account for less than a quarter of business in 2027, reducing reliance on that market even as export restrictions remain a risk. Applied Materials Says Chip Demand Remains Much Higher Than Supply

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.