Left Brain Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,556 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Left Brain Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,556 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 2.6% of Left Brain Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,589,000. CX Institutional raised its stake in Applied Materials by 333.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after buying an additional 19,886 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,211,000 after buying an additional 28,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Applied Materials by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,521,000 after buying an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ planned move to raise its Besi stake to 20% is strengthening its exposure to hybrid bonding, a packaging technology that could benefit from rising AI-chip complexity. TIKR describes a bullish long-term scenario, with a potential price target of approximately $806 versus a roughly $628 Wall Street target. Applied Materials hybrid bonding analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a quarter with 51% growth and argues that AMAT trades at about 23 times forward earnings, a valuation that may look reasonable if AI-related semiconductor-equipment demand remains strong. The company also recently exceeded earnings and revenue estimates and issued fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22. Applied Materials growth and valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is attracting unusually high investor attention, but the Zacks reports primarily review the company’s prospects rather than identify a new fundamental catalyst. Zacks Applied Materials investor attention report
• Negative Sentiment: Compared with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Applied Materials has shown a flatter revenue trajectory and less consistent quarter-over-quarter growth. That comparison may reinforce concerns that AMAT’s elevated valuation already discounts substantial AI-driven demand. Applied Materials versus Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 7.5%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $390.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $309.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $457.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $443.63. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. New Street Research reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $710.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $632.70.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.