AlphaQuest LLC Acquires New Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,727 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1,008.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 6.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in Applied Materials by 23.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% in the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after buying an additional 10,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 145,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,601,000 after acquiring an additional 35,012 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $322.51 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $344.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, January 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $360.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $273.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.15.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target sharply to $400 (from $250) and reiterated a Buy ahead of earnings, signaling increased analyst confidence and likely supporting buying interest. Citi Jumps Applied Materials (AMAT) Target Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings research (Zacks) expects AMAT to beat estimates, highlighting the company’s revenue/earnings mix as favorable — a potential short-term catalyst that can lift the stock on an upside surprise. Applied Materials (AMAT) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also flags AMAT as a strong momentum stock, which can attract momentum-driven flows into the shares ahead of a likely volatility event (earnings). Here’s Why Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: An earnings release and investor event are scheduled for Feb. 12; this is the immediate catalyst and will drive intraday moves depending on results and guidance. Applied Materials (AMAT) to Release Earnings on Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures appear to be a data glitch (showing 0 shares and NaN changes), so there’s no clear short-covering signal from that dataset at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage flagged a sharp pullback tied to export-control uncertainty despite robust AI-driven equipment demand — a reminder that geopolitical/export risks can quickly reverse sentiment if guidance or commentary raises red flags. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Down 11.6% After AI-Driven Equipment Demand Meets Export-Control Uncertainty

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.