NEOS Investment Management LLC Purchases 54,923 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 605,023 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,923 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.6% of NEOS Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $437,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock worth $146,114,059. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure spending is supporting demand for Applied Materials’ semiconductor equipment, particularly in advanced packaging, DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Accelerating global fab investment could sustain growth in wafer-fabrication equipment. AMAT Rides on AI-Led WFE Demand: Can it Sustain the Momentum?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have raised their Applied Materials earnings expectations, including an increase to the fiscal 2027 EPS estimate. UBS also reportedly sees meaningful potential appreciation, reinforcing the bullish outlook for the stock. FY2027 EPS Estimate for Applied Materials Boosted by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s forecast was raised twice between February and August. Investors have re-rated AMAT based on improving forward expectations, even though trailing-twelve-month revenue growth was only 7.8%. Why Did Applied Materials Stock Nearly Triple on Single-Digit Trailing Revenue Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: The semiconductor wafer-inspection market is expected to expand through 2035, driven by AI, electric vehicles, advanced nodes and advanced packaging. This supports Applied Materials’ long-term addressable market but does not necessarily provide an immediate earnings catalyst. Semiconductor Wafer Inspection Equipment Market Outlook 2025-2035
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains the main pressure point. After a roughly 237% five-year gain and a major year-to-date advance, investors may be demanding increasingly strong results to justify AMAT’s premium multiple. Can Applied Materials Still Look Cheap After a 237% Run?
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s recent decline despite record revenue and above-consensus guidance suggests that expectations, profit-taking and concerns about the semiconductor cycle are outweighing the positive operating news. Applied Materials Just Dropped 14% in a Month. Sell Now, or Buy More?

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.6%

AMAT opened at $435.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $536.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $460.63. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.40 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $345.94 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

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.