Applied Materials Insiders Unload Stock
Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), the world's largest manufacturer of chipmaking equipment, recently announced it expects fiscal fourth-quarter sales to come in less than analysts had predicted, Bloomberg reports.
Shortly after the company announced its plans, company insiders, including senior vice president Joseph Sweeney, sold of millions of dollars in stock through insider trades. In the days after the announcement, the company's shares were highly volatile, but have been on a downward trend for the last few sessions.
According to the the media outlet, the company expects sales to drop as much as 40 percent compared with the previous quarter, with expected revenue as low as 1.76 billion - much lower than the $1.95 billion expected by Bloomberg analysts.
Patrick Ho, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said the company is making more chips for semiconductor company Nand than the market needs, resulting in much lower prices.
"Nand has some supply-demand imbalances that will take a few quarters to work through," said Ho said. "They’re going to be cautious."
According to insider trading reports, Sweeney sold on August 17 100,000 shares valued at $11.89 for a total of 1.19 million.
Why do you think Sweeney is selling so much stock?
Read Full Insider Report For:
AMAT |
