Alight Capital Management LP Sells 20,000 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Alight Capital Management cut its Applied Materials stake by 40% in the fourth quarter, selling 20,000 shares and leaving it with 30,000 shares worth about $7.71 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish, with several firms raising price targets on AMAT amid expectations that AI infrastructure spending and demand for chip-making tools will support growth.
• Applied Materials reported solid results last quarter, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also highlighted a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share along with continued insider selling.

Alight Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 2.0% of Alight Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Alight Capital Management LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,531,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $45,700,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Chad R grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,297,000 after buying an additional 7,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, boosting confidence that AI infrastructure spending and demand for memory-chip manufacturing tools will keep growth strong. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled SENZ, an integrated AI/AR smart-glasses visual platform, expanding its story beyond semiconductor equipment into next-generation optics and wearable tech. EssilorLuxottica and Applied Materials Join Forces to Advance Augmented Reality Optics Platforms for Next-Generation Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials and EssilorLuxottica announced a long-term partnership to develop AR and AI smart-eyewear optics, suggesting an additional growth avenue and validating AMAT’s materials expertise. EssilorLuxottica, Applied Materials strike deal to develop smart glasses, AR technology
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted record highs and strong momentum for chip-equipment stocks, with AMAT benefiting from the broader AI-driven rally in semiconductor capital equipment. Applied Materials Stock Is One Of the S&P 500 Leaders Today. It's AI.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $489.16.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $592.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $470.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $623.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business's fifty day moving average is $441.16 and its 200-day moving average is $360.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 189,767 shares of company stock valued at $107,769,409 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Applied Materials

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.

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