Gunderson Capital Management LLC Takes $7.89 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Gunderson Capital Management disclosed a new first-quarter position in Applied Materials, buying 23,098 shares worth about $7.89 million. The stake makes up roughly 3.3% of the fund’s portfolio and is its 14th-largest holding.
• Applied Materials continues to draw strong institutional and analyst support, with 80.56% of shares held by institutions and a Wall Street consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Recent analyst targets were also raised, including Bank of America’s move to $720.
• The company’s latest results topped estimates, with Q2 earnings of $2.86 per share on revenue of $7.91 billion, and it issued Q3 guidance above expectations. Despite that, the stock is trading at a premium valuation and insiders have sold shares recently.

Gunderson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,895,000. Applied Materials makes up approximately 3.3% of Gunderson Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials introduced new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging, expanding its role in AI chip manufacturing and potentially boosting future demand. Applied Materials Introduces New Systems to Accelerate DRAM and Advanced Packaging for AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said AMAT’s event highlighted strong opportunities in DRAM and advanced packaging, reinforcing the company’s AI-driven growth narrative. Applied Materials' event focuses on DRAM, and advanced packaging: analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive, with analysts still confident in Applied Materials’ strong competitive position. AMAT stock gets thumbs up from Wall Street – analysts remain confident about Applied Materials’ strong market position
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggests the stock may be looking expensive after its recent rally, which could limit near-term upside even if the long-term AI story stays intact. Applied Materials stock looks pricey—can AI demand justify the rally?
• Neutral Sentiment: One analysis noted that Applied Materials’ aggressive investment strategy may pressure cash flow in the near term, even though it supports longer-term growth. Can AMAT's Investment Strategy Lift Future Cash Flow Growth?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $518.19.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.2%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $626.84 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $669.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $473.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $377.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $497.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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