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Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Declines While Market Improves: Some Information for Investors

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The most recent trading session ended with Applied Materials (AMAT - Free Report) standing at $202.05, reflecting a -1.4% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.42% for the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.04%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.38%.

The the stock of maker of chipmaking equipment has risen by 3.88% in the past month, leading the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.78% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.06%.

The upcoming earnings release of Applied Materials will be of great interest to investors. In that report, analysts expect Applied Materials to post earnings of $2.18 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 2.83%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $6.94 billion, indicating a 3.23% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $8.49 per share and revenue of $27.07 billion, indicating changes of +5.47% and +2.09%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Applied Materials. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.21% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Currently, Applied Materials is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Applied Materials is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 24.14. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 27.67.

We can additionally observe that AMAT currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.43. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.25 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 100, putting it in the top 40% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.


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