Caprock Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,092 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,137,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $410,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.8% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,490 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,938 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were 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 $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, January 12th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Citigroup increased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.15.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

AMAT stock opened at $339.88 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $292.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $344.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company 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 business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

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.