Bank of America downgraded Applied Materials to Neutral from Buy and cut its price objective to $180 from $190, citing a weaker-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter outlook and growing exposure to sluggish chip equipment segments.

Shares of Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ: AMAT) tanked despite upbeat fiscal Q3 results. BofA downgraded, Goldman Sachs reiterated buy, Needham kept buy.

Beijing E-Town Semiconductor Technologies , a semiconductor equipment firm backed by Beijing's government, on Wednesday said it has sued U.S. chip equipment supplier Applied Materials over alleged trade secrets infringement.

Applied Materials' stock price slumped by double digits after the semiconductor equipment maker reported a project revenue decline amid tariff worries in China.

Applied Materials (AMAT) stock falls after the company issued guidance that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A) added to its stakes in homebuilder stocks Lennar (LEN) and DR Horton (DHI).

Applied Materials reported third-quarter revenue of $7.3 billion, beating analyst estimates of $7.22 billion. The chip equipment manufacturer reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.48 per share, beating analyst estimates of $2.36 per share, according to Benzinga Pro.

The Chinese company allege Applied Materials Inc. illegally obtained, used and revealed its core technologies related to the application of plasma source in treating the surface of wafers.

This week's dividend activity included increased payouts from Cboe Global Markets ( CBOE) and Winnebago ( WGO) as well as declarations from companies such as Exxon Mobil ( NYSE: XOM) and Cisco Systems ( NASDAQ: CSCO ).