Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 48.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,615 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,443 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 0.5% of Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,521,000 after acquiring an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 204.8% in the 4th quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 140,773 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,177,000 after purchasing an additional 94,587 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group set a $675.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $640.17.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.1%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $507.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $402.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $564.15 and a 200 day moving average of $444.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The business 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 39.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.