Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT is Polymer Capital Management HK LTD’s 4th Largest Position

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1,747.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,986 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,630 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.3% of Polymer Capital Management HK LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $44,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $1,589,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,082,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 183.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 105,776 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reportedly named Applied Materials a “top pick,” citing the company’s exposure to the continued buildout of AI infrastructure and chip-manufacturing capacity. Applied Materials Stock Is Named a Top Pick at Goldman Sachs
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see significant upside after the stock’s decline from its high, with AI-driven semiconductor investment and record quarterly revenue supporting bullish price targets. One report cited an average target near $641, implying roughly 32% potential appreciation from recent levels. Wall Street Sees Rally Despite Decline From Peak
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is viewed as a key beneficiary of AI infrastructure spending because its equipment and engineering solutions are essential to advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Why Investors Should Buy the Dip in AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its Applied Materials price target from $650 to $590 but retained an “outperform” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious expectations, while the rating still indicates confidence in the company’s longer-term prospects. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported August short-interest figures show zero shares and a mathematically invalid change, making the data unreliable and unlikely to provide a meaningful trading signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly declined as investors reduced risk ahead of NVIDIA’s results, weighing on Applied Materials alongside other chipmakers. Semiconductor Stocks Slide Ahead of NVIDIA Earnings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group set a $675.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $480.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $558.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $454.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid 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 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.28%.

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.