Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 2,004 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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 market capitalization of $366.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 0.99 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $550.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $457.65.

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 business 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 company’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 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, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock worth $172,625,209 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials 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.