Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Reduced by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,223,600 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 278,436 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 1.5% of Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.28% of Applied Materials worth $455,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,612 shares of company stock valued at $4,639,807. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade pushed the stock higher intraday — a broker upgrade cited improved fundamentals/visibility and sent shares up before broader market weakness set in. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 4.5% Higher After Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a bullish view with forecasts for strong price appreciation, reinforcing investor confidence that equipment makers like AMAT will benefit from sustained AI and memory capex. Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research highlights that AI spending is shifting value to semiconductor equipment suppliers — a structural tailwind for AMAT as fabs invest in logic, DRAM, HBM and advanced packaging. The AI spending boom is creating winners beyond the ‘Mag 7.’ Why one sector could see big gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks) notes AMAT is scaling up exposure to logic, DRAM and advanced packaging (GAA, hybrid bonding, HBM), which supports multi‑year revenue growth assumptions. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor Q: “Is it too late?” coverage and articles looking at valuation after a big one‑year run can increase profit‑taking; these pieces examine multiples and momentum without new company fundamentals. Is It Too Late To Consider Applied Materials (AMAT) After A 130% One Year Surge?
• Neutral Sentiment: Questions about outperforming benchmarks—coverage comparing AMAT to the S&P 500—are framing some investors’ benchmark/rebalancing decisions rather than signaling near‑term fundamental change. Is Applied Materials Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest entries for late Feb look erroneous/incomplete (zeros/NaN); investors should treat those figures cautiously and watch for corrected filings. (Data reported 2/25–2/26)
• Negative Sentiment: Sector sell‑off after Nvidia’s earnings created downward pressure—concerns about the sustainability of AI capex flow prompted a pullback in AMAT despite recent strength. A Look At Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation After Sector Sell Off On AI Spending Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: News items grouping AMAT with other semiconductor names that are falling amplify momentum selling and may trigger short‑term downside as traders reduce exposure. Applied Materials, Broadcom, Lam Research, Western Digital, and Allegro MicroSystems shares are falling, what you need to know

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $372.30 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $295.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.