Swing Trading Plan
Holding Period
1-6 trading days
Expected figures are probability-weighted from our historical pattern database; Trade R:R is measured from the entry, target and stop levels.
Current Setup
AMAT has plunged roughly 41% from its 52-week high of $739.67 set on June 30 before staging a 15% single-day rebound on July 30. A bullish pennant pattern is forming at current price $534.24, with structure, breakout, and volume scores of 15.0, 13.0, and 11.0 respectively—indicating solid pattern quality (overall 79/98). Shares fell approximately 17.4% over the last 30 days, sliding from $603.04 on July 2 to $497.99 by early August 2026. Key support at $436.33 and resistance at $739.67 frame the pattern, with RSI at a neutral 49.22 and MACD histogram negative at -1.58, suggesting consolidation before directional confirmation.
Stock Context
Applied Materials is scheduled to report fiscal third quarter 2026 results on Aug. 13, 2026, with $3.36 EPS and $9.0 billion in revenue expected. Profit-taking across the overheated semiconductor sector, high-profile insider selling exceeding $65 million, and a Morgan Stanley downgrade to Hold were among the primary catalysts for the recent pullback. However, strong underlying fundamentals persist, including record fiscal Q2 revenue of $7.91 billion and a raised full-year equipment growth outlook above 30%. Key factors include the trajectory of U.S. export control policy toward China—where AMAT historically generated roughly 30% of revenue—as well as hyperscaler capital expenditure trends from Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet. The pattern forms against a backdrop of binary near-term risk/reward centered on August 13 earnings.
What to Expect
A confirmed breakout above resistance ($739.67) would project toward the conservative target of $574.12, representing an 7.5% gain from current levels. The win probability of 61.58% reflects moderate bullish conviction. Volume confirmation is critical—current relative volume of 0.63 suggests below-average participation; a breakout requires volume acceleration above the 20-day average of 7.97M shares to validate the pattern. Invalidation occurs on a close below key support at $436.33, which would negate the pennant structure and signal broader weakness. The pattern setup indicates the consolidation phase is compressing buyer-seller indecision before the August 13 catalyst.
Risk Factors
Free cash flow collapsed 80.21% year over year in Q2 to $210 million despite record revenue, a working capital red flag. High beta of 2.33 and elevated volatility (0.8843 20-day, 7.28% ATR-pct) amplify downside risk on miss. Applied Materials was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Erste Group and Morgan Stanley lowered its price target to $646 from $647, signaling analyst caution. Shares trade at a 51 trailing P/E and a 32 forward P/E, both stretched for a cyclical equipment name. The August 13 earnings report poses binary execution risk; any guidance miss or China-related policy headwinds could trigger sharp reversal. Below-average volume (0.63 ratio) and recent insider selling further elevate risk into the event.
How We Find and Score This Setup
We scan more than 6,000 NYSE and NASDAQ stocks every trading day and compare each detected pattern against a database of 370,000+ historical detections. Every setup is scored across three dimensions: Structure, Volume, and Breakout Readiness. Win probability is a calibrated estimate of how similar historical setups performed over the following 10 trading days. This is a swing trading tool built for multi-day holds. It is not built or tested for day trading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AMAT a good swing trade?
AMAT scored 79 out of 98 on our bullish pennant scan, with a 62% historical win probability over a 1-6 trading days hold. Good setup based on our systematic scoring.
What is the entry, target, and stop loss for this setup?
The setup's reference price is $534.24, with a conservative target of $574.12 and a stop loss at $485.62.
What would invalidate this bullish pennant setup?
A close below the stop loss at $485.62 would invalidate the setup and suggest the pattern has failed.
How is the win probability calculated?
Win probability is a calibrated estimate of how similar historical bullish pennant setups performed over the following 10 trading days, drawn from a database of 370,000+ historical pattern detections across 6,000+ NYSE and NASDAQ stocks.