12,209 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Bought by Optimize Financial Inc

Key Points

• Optimize Financial Inc has acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc., purchasing 12,209 shares valued at approximately $1.77 million, making it the firm's 19th largest holding.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in Applied Materials, with some reporting increases as high as 5,325% during the first quarter, resulting in institutional investors owning over 80% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on the stock, with ratings ranging from buy to hold, and an average price target of $193.88 for Applied Materials.

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,209 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,772,000. Applied Materials comprises about 0.7% of Optimize Financial Inc's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $162.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $215.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $179.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

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.

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