On July 29, Applied Materials fell 5.32% in pre-market trading, trading at $462.93/share, with turnover of $6.1221 million.

On the news front, renowned investor Michael Burry, known as the Big Short, previously disclosed short positions targeting Applied Materials and has continued to increase bearish bets against AI and semiconductor stocks, projecting an approximately 30% correction across related chip names. This development has continued to ferment, pressuring market sentiment. Additionally, growing skepticism over whether massive AI infrastructure spending can generate adequate returns has compounded selling pressure, while concerns over Chinese lithography equipment competition further weighed on the sector.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has now declined over 20% from its June all-time high, with the semiconductor equipment sector broadly weakening. Notably, HSBC, Citi, and UBS recently raised their price targets on Applied Materials to a range of $683 to $705, with the average analyst target at $641.61, yet short-term bearish sentiment continues to dominate price action. The company is scheduled to report fiscal third-quarter results on August 13, with consensus EPS expectations at $3.36.

(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.)