Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 222.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,064 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 225,060 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $66,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Long‑term partnership with SK hynix to co‑develop advanced DRAM and high‑bandwidth memory (HBM), with engineers collaborating at Applied’s EPIC Center to accelerate AI memory innovation. Applied Materials and SK Hynix partner for next‑gen AI memory development
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership with Micron to develop next‑generation DRAM, HBM and NAND for energy‑efficient AI systems — market coverage reports and trade commentary show investors treating this as a strategic win for AMAT’s equipment and services revenue. Applied Materials and Micron Partner To Advance U.S. Innovation in Next‑Generation AI Memory Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: Sector commentary and trade notes highlight AMAT as a beneficiary of the AI hardware cycle — outlets and analysts point to AMAT and Micron as winners within the AI trade, supporting near‑term investor demand. AMAT and Micron still winning in AI trade despite QQQ and sector weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Research roundup notes AMAT riding a semiconductor rebound but flags rising risks — this provides context for upside while warning of cyclicality. Top Research Reports for JPMorgan, Johnson & Johnson & Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data in recent feeds shows effectively zero reported short interest (likely a reporting/data artifact), so short‑squeeze risk appears minimal based on available numbers.
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group initiated coverage with a Hold rating, which may temper upside from the partnership headlines for some institutional holders. Erste Group Initiated Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) With a Hold Rating – Here’s Why
• Negative Sentiment: Despite strong free cash flow (Q1 FCF noted), coverage highlighted a recent pullback from highs — reminders of semicon cyclicality and profit‑taking could weigh on near‑term performance. Applied Materials Q1 2026 Free Cash Flow Hit $1.04 Billion, So Why Is the Stock Sliding

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Susquehanna raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5%

AMAT stock opened at $351.07 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $331.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.