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

Left Brain Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,556 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 2.6% of Left Brain Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. LJI Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 11.5% in the third quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 94.4% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,680 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Arta Finance Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.4% during the third quarter. Arta Finance Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Whelan Financial grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.8% during the third quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 1,899 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5,463.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 150,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $76,707,000 after acquiring an additional 147,304 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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 other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $740.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.70.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $390.09 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $457.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.63. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $309.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.60. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. 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 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

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.