Wedbush Securities Inc. Boosts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,696 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $461.67 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $550.80 and a 200-day moving average of $457.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 $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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $657.76.

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.