On August 18, Applied Materials fell 3.37% in pre-market trading, trading at $516.0/share, with turnover of approximately $6.09 million. The semiconductor equipment sector saw widespread weakness, with Lam Research down 3.44%, ASML down 3.40%, KLA down 2.85%, AXT Inc down 7.48%, and Teradyne down 3.42%.

The decline follows a volatile post-earnings period. Applied Materials reported Q3 fiscal revenue of $9.12 billion (vs. $9B estimate) and adjusted EPS of $3.50 (vs. $3.42 estimate), with Q4 revenue guidance midpoint of $10.25 billion significantly exceeding the $9.55 billion consensus. Despite the beats, shares fell as much as 7% on August 14 as the market deemed the results insufficient relative to elevated expectations following a 108% year-to-date rally. After a brief recovery on August 17 driven by multiple analyst target price upgrades — including Berenberg raising to $675, RBC to $600, and JPMorgan to $660 — the stock resumed its downward trajectory alongside broader sector weakness.

(The above content is based on publicly available market information, generated by a program or algorithm, and is intended solely as a stock movement alert. It does not constitute investment advice or a basis for trading decisions.)