New York, Feb 3, 2026, 6:28 PM EST — After-hours
- Applied Materials dropped about 3% Tuesday, snapping its short-lived one-day rally.
- On Monday, Morgan Stanley lifted its price target for the stock.
- Investors will be watching closely for the company’s earnings report and guidance update due on Feb. 12.
Applied Materials shares fell 2.96% Tuesday, ending at $318.67 on a volume near 10.5 million. The stock remains roughly 7.5% off its 52-week high of $344.60, hit on Jan. 29.
This slide matters because chip-equipment stocks often signal the next surge in semiconductor spending, and lately the market has grown jittery. Tech valuations are already stretched thin, so small changes in mood have triggered steep sell-offs.
Applied said it will report fiscal first-quarter results on Feb. 12, with an earnings call scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET. Investors will be watching for clues on wafer-fab equipment demand, the key gear driving chip production, and the direction of customer orders.
Stocks slipped on Wall Street, weighed down by worries that Anthropic’s new tools could ramp up competition among software firms and tighten profit margins. “We’ve got an expensive market and expectations are really high,” said John Campbell of Allspring Global Investments. Art Hogan at B. Riley Wealth commented, “We’re seeing a lot of software companies across the spectrum get hit.” Reuters
Shares of semiconductor equipment makers fell, with Lam Research down 3.12% and KLA sliding 3.89% in regular trading.
On Monday, Morgan Stanley’s Shane Brett raised his price target for Applied Materials to $364 from $273, keeping an Overweight rating. He anticipates the company will outperform its peers. The bank’s supply-chain checks indicate a boost in short-term demand, with forecasts showing Applied likely to beat consensus in the first quarter.
Shares surged 1.89% Monday to close at $328.40, only to pull back on Tuesday.
Investors mark Feb. 12 for fresh updates on memory tools, demand for advanced packaging, and changes in customer spending plans. Often, guidance moves these stocks as much as the quarterly numbers themselves.
Risks remain significant, especially around policy shifts and China exposure. Applied Materials warned that broader U.S. chip-export restrictions might cut about $600 million from its fiscal 2026 revenue. And these rules can tighten faster than factories can adapt.
Feb. 12 is the next big date, when Applied reports earnings and refreshes its outlook. Traders want to know if the late January rally was fueled by real orders or just hope.
