Point Nemo Capital LLC Purchases 3,183 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Point Nemo Capital opened a new Applied Materials position, acquiring 3,183 shares valued at approximately $1.63 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company’s shares.
• Applied Materials is approaching a key earnings catalyst, with investors watching whether chip-equipment demand and spending expectations remain resilient. AI-related demand and advanced packaging are cited as longer-term supports, while concerns about slowing data-center spending have weighed on the sector.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $632.01. The company’s latest reported quarter beat earnings and revenue estimates, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Point Nemo Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,628,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,589,000. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,631,000 after purchasing an additional 19,886 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $729,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Applied Materials by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $334,521,000 after purchasing an additional 105,776 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: A rally in chip-equipment shares is lifting AMAT ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter results, scheduled for November 12. The sector move followed Lam Research’s announcement of a $25 billion share buyback. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Rise as Chip Equipment Rallies Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related equipment demand and growth in advanced packaging are cited as longer-term supports for Applied Materials, despite the recent pullback in chip stocks. Article: AMAT Shares Plunge 30% in a Month: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming results are a key near-term catalyst: investors will assess whether demand and equipment-spending expectations hold up in a more cautious investment environment. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Fall Before a Revenue Test
• Negative Sentiment: The rebound follows a sharp chip-stock sell-off, with investors worried that data-center spending could slow; weak Qualcomm guidance added to sector concerns. AMAT also recently faced pressure after an analyst downgrade. Article: Chip Stock Rout Deepens Article: Applied Materials Stock Falls After Analyst Downgrade

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. HSBC dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. New Street Research cut their target price on Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $740.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $632.01.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $332.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $444.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $444.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.40 and a 52-week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products.

The company's offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world.

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