Cibc World Market Inc. Purchases 47,359 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 213,109 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,359 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $43,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: New 2nm/GAA toolset announced — Applied rolled out Viva (radical treatment), Sym3™ Z Magnum (etch) and Spectral™ ALD (molybdenum contacts) systems that target performance and energy gains for 2nm-class AI chips; these tools are already being adopted by leading foundries, which supports AMAT’s near-term revenue and long-term competitive moat. Applied Materials Unveils Transistor and Wiring Innovations
• Positive Sentiment: Samsung joins AMAT’s $5B EPIC Center — Samsung Electronics will join the new Silicon Valley EPIC R&D center, validating demand for collaborative process/tool development and increasing the chance of multi-year equipment engagements. Samsung Joins EPIC Center
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and price-target upside — RBC reaffirmed an Outperform at $385 and multiple houses maintain buy/overweight calls and elevated median targets (~$350+), which can sustain buying interest. Analyst Rating/Reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 expectations bullish — Earnings previews (Zacks, Seeking Alpha) and option-market commentary show expectations for AI-driven strength across WFE, DRAM/NAND and displays, supporting upside to near-term revenue/earnings. Q1 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data noisy — January showed a meaningful decline in shares sold short (~13.7M, down ~14.6%), which is supportive, but Feb reporting entries contain zero/NaN figures that look like reporting errors and should be treated cautiously.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options/volatility positioning — Traders expect a sizable post-earnings move (Investopedia coverage), which can amplify intraday swings but doesn’t indicate direction until results and guidance land. Post-Earnings Options Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and “orders matter” caveat — Coverage notes the rally has stretched valuation and that follow-through depends on orders and bookings; if guidance or orders disappoint, the stock could correct quickly. Valuation/Orders Risk
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales flagged — Public filings show insider sales activity in the past six months, which some investors may view as a minor negative signal amid stretched multiples. (source: Quiver/press summaries)

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $339.88 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $292.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.59. 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 firm has a market cap of $269.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $344.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.15.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.