SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Invests $904,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,250 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $904,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,237,685 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 17.1% during the 4th 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 worth $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $461.67 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $550.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $456.77. The company has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.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 business earned $2.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio 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.