6,760 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Q Fund Management Hong Kong Ltd

Q Fund Management Hong Kong Ltd lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 80.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,640 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,760 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 0.8% of Q Fund Management Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Q Fund Management Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $839,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JM2 Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.0% during the third quarter. JM2 Capital Inc. now owns 2,563 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. now owns 413 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,381 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the third quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,482 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,781,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. 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: Applied Materials unveiled its $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, a collaborative research facility involving customers and partners including Intel, Micron, SK Hynix and Samsung. The center is intended to shorten chip-development cycles and accelerate the commercialization of advanced manufacturing technologies. Applied Materials’ $5 billion AI lab aims to cut chip development time in half
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted opportunities to gain more than two percentage points of semiconductor-equipment market share by 2030, grow eBeam equipment revenue to approximately $2 billion in 2026 and increase semiconductor-services revenue to more than $12 billion by 2030. These targets support the long-term AI and advanced-node investment thesis. Applied Materials Set to Outperform as AI Drives Sustained Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Ventures invested in Flexcompute, supporting an AI platform that uses physics-based modeling to speed semiconductor design, simulation and materials prototyping. The initiative could improve customer workflows and create strategic benefits over time. Applied Materials Backs AI Physics Modeling Push
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an $850 price target, implying substantial upside, but the bullish view has not offset near-term investor concerns. Erste Group also made only a modest increase to its FY2027 EPS forecast while retaining a “Hold” rating.
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader semiconductor-equipment group sold off amid profit-taking after a strong year, weakness in Asian chip stocks and caution ahead of U.S. inflation data. AMAT’s valuation—about 40 times earnings—leaves the stock sensitive to any slowdown in AI spending or earnings expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared disappointed by the clarity and detail of Applied Materials’ 2030 outlook. Reports indicate that management’s long-term guidance did not fully match elevated expectations, while an omitted metric or target at investor day was interpreted by some investors as a potential sell signal. Why Applied Materials Sank Today

Applied Materials Stock Down 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $464.24 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $486.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $484.20. The company has a market capitalization of $368.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.40 and a 52-week high of $739.67. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.