Applied Materials (AMAT) closed the latest trading day at $166.83, indicating a -0.43% change from the previous session's end. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.11%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.77%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 1.49%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of chipmaking equipment had lost 2.2% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.27% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.4% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Applied Materials in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $2.28, reflecting a 7.04% increase from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $7.16 billion, indicating a 6.74% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.38 per share and a revenue of $29.34 billion, representing changes of +8.44% and +7.98%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Applied Materials. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 1.66% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Applied Materials currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Applied Materials is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 17.86. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 39.71.

Also, we should mention that AMAT has a PEG ratio of 1.75. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Electronics - Semiconductors industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.19.