J. Goldman & Co LP Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

J. Goldman & Co LP increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 135.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,843 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,785 shares during the period. J. Goldman & Co LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,045,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Applied Materials by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,234,458 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,615,513,000 after buying an additional 129,337 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 611,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $442,310,000 after buying an additional 146,353 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $316,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 340.1% in the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 5,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,321,000 after buying an additional 4,619 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm executive joins the board: Applied Materials appointed Qualcomm CFO and COO Akash Palkhiwala as a director and Audit Committee member. His semiconductor-industry, finance and operating experience could strengthen the board as AMAT targets growth in advanced logic, memory and AI infrastructure. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Positive Sentiment: AI buildout supports earnings momentum: Recent coverage highlights AMAT’s record quarter-over-quarter revenue increase, with quarterly revenue of $9.12 billion, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.50, up 41%. Demand is being driven by advanced DRAM, high-bandwidth memory, leading-edge logic and advanced packaging. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: Services business remains healthy: AMAT’s Applied Global Services segment reported record revenue and expanding margins, supported by subscription services, parts demand and increased semiconductor-fab utilization. This recurring revenue stream may help cushion equipment-cycle volatility. AMAT’s AGS Business Gains Momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst upside remains substantial: The average Wall Street price target implies roughly 35% potential upside, although targets are estimates and AMAT’s elevated valuation makes further gains dependent on continued earnings growth. Does Applied Materials Have the Potential to Rally?
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure is a key overhang: New Chinese immersion DUV lithography capabilities and tighter export controls raise concerns about domestic competition and reduced access to China, a significant AMAT market. Applied Materials’ China Problem Is Getting Worse
• Negative Sentiment: CFO stock sale adds a minor sentiment concern: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares worth approximately $3.6 million, reducing his holdings by 5.51%. The transaction does not change AMAT’s fundamentals but may weigh modestly on investor sentiment. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group set a $675.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $740.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $482.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $382.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $553.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $456.73. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.28%.

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.