On July 16, Applied Materials fell 3.01% in pre-market trading, trading at $560.7/share, with turnover of $29.72 million, extending a multi-day sector-wide correction.

On the news front, despite Citi raising its target price to $705 on the same day, the stock continued its pullback as short-term profit-taking pressure dominated. The previous session, UBS had also lifted its target to $705 from $570 while maintaining a Buy rating, yet the stock still closed down 3.51%. The semiconductor equipment sector remained broadly under pressure, with peers ASML down 1.87%, Lam Research down 3.82%, KLA down 3.48%, Teradyne down 4.12%, and Aehr Test down 4.19%.

The stock had surged nearly 9% on July 9 after Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Mizuho, and Stifel collectively raised target prices to the $630-$650 range, while CEO Gary Dickerson signaled strong long-term visibility into chip equipment demand extending beyond 2027. However, concerns over AI capex sustainability and noted short-seller Michael Burry's bearish positioning across the AI supply chain have fueled persistent profit-taking in the sector.

(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.)