FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,979 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,000. Applied Materials makes up 1.3% of FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from strong semiconductor-equipment fundamentals. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue rising 11.4% year over year, and issued third-quarter fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.16–$3.56. A broader semiconductor rally, driven by AI optimism and strong memory demand, is also supportive for equipment suppliers. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s average recommendation remains equivalent to a Buy, indicating that analysts generally expect continued upside from Applied Materials’ exposure to semiconductor manufacturing and AI-related capital spending. Wall Street Analysts See Applied Materials as a Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: The semiconductor sector has rallied sharply, helping lift major indexes to records. That momentum supports AMAT’s industry backdrop, but it may also increase valuation and profit-taking risk after a strong run. Semiconductor ETFs Surge as the AI Trade Ramps Back Up
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials was reportedly among the large-cap stocks shorted by Michael Burry, who has warned of a potential 1987-style market selloff. The report is weighing on sentiment toward highly valued chip-related stocks, even though Burry’s position is an opinion rather than a change in AMAT’s business outlook. Applied Materials Faces Fresh Scrutiny After Michael Burry Short Bet
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank AG downgraded Applied Materials from “buy” to “hold,” adding near-term pressure to the stock and reinforcing concerns that its elevated valuation leaves less room for disappointment. Finviz Analyst Rating Information

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.23.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3%

Applied Materials stock opened at $534.24 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $556.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $435.59. The firm has a market cap of $424.17 billion, a PE ratio of 50.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

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.