Moore Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Moore Capital Management LP bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 50,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,850,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $685,684,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials benefited from a Citi target increase and broader enthusiasm around AI infrastructure spending, with investors viewing the company as well-positioned for sustained demand in semiconductor equipment. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled SENZ, a new integrated visual system for next-generation smart glasses, and announced a long-term partnership with EssilorLuxottica, creating a potential growth avenue beyond its core chipmaking tools business. EssilorLuxottica and Applied Materials Join Forces to Advance Augmented Reality Optics Platforms for Next-Generation Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted strong fundamentals, record results, and optimism that Applied Materials is a key beneficiary of the AI equipment super-cycle, reinforcing the stock’s bullish momentum. Applied Materials: The Cheapest Seat On The AI Equipment Super-Cycle
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple insiders, including CEO Gary Dickerson, sold shares totaling about $65 million, which can raise questions about near-term valuation even though the sales were relatively small versus their remaining holdings. Why Applied Materials Insiders Sold $65 Million Worth of Stock
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson sold 71,727 shares at about $593.75 per share, adding to the day’s insider-sale headlines and potentially putting some pressure on sentiment. Gary Dickerson Sells 71,727 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $489.16.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.3%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $592.92 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $441.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $360.55. The stock has a market cap of $470.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $623.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 189,767 shares of company stock valued at $107,769,409 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.