SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Buys Shares of 1,250 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,250 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $904,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 197.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,061,899 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $767,753,000 after buying an additional 704,629 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,154,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $616,000. Fox Hill Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $291,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $80,678,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $461.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $550.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $456.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.76.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.