IFP Advisors Inc Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• IFP Advisors increased its Applied Materials stake by 25.4% in the second quarter, holding 14,578 shares valued at approximately $10.54 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Wall Street maintains a favorable outlook, with 28 analysts rating AMAT Strong Buy or Buy and five assigning Hold ratings. The stock has a consensus price target of $658.45 and an overall “Moderate Buy” rating.
• Applied Materials exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.50 in EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, with year-over-year revenue growth of 24.8%. However, insiders have sold 231,692 shares worth roughly $146.1 million over the past 90 days.

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 25.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,578 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,957 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,589,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,005,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,082,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 183.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $658.45.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.0%

AMAT stock opened at $472.79 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $523.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.73. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.75 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $375.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,114,059. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.

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