On July 28, Applied Materials fell 4.85% in regular trading, trading at 483.59 USD/share, with turnover of $382 million. The decline was driven by multiple bearish catalysts converging on the semiconductor equipment sector.

On the news front, renowned investor Michael Burry, known as the Big Short, previously disclosed short positions targeting Applied Materials and the broader AI and semiconductor sector, predicting an approximately 30% correction across related chip stocks. This bearish thesis has continued to ferment, intensifying selling pressure. Additionally, mounting concerns over whether massive AI infrastructure capital expenditures can generate adequate returns weighed on sentiment, while fears of rising competition from Chinese lithography equipment compounded the downdraft. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has now declined over 20% from its June all-time high.

Within the Semiconductor Equipment sector, the broad selloff was severe. Among individual stocks, ASML Holding NV down 5.07%, Lam Research down 7.76%, KLA-Tencor down 6.23%, Amkor Technology down 21.18%, AXT Inc down 14.22%. Notably, multiple institutions including HSBC, Citi, and UBS had recently raised Applied Materials price targets to the $683-$705 range, with the analyst consensus target at $641.61, but short-term bearish momentum has overwhelmed bullish fundamental views.

(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.)