Applied Materials Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 48,077 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 57% compared to the average daily volume of 30,534 call options.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $190.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $176.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.51. The stock has a market cap of $151.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $29,000. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.92.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.