Styrax Capital LP Acquires Shares of 200,000 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Styrax Capital LP acquired 200,000 Applied Materials shares worth approximately $68.4 million, making AMAT its 12th-largest holding and representing 4.8% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 27 Buy ratings, one Strong Buy and six Holds; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $593.84 price target.
• Applied Materials exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.86 EPS and $7.91 billion in revenue, while insiders sold $169.7 million of stock over the past 90 days. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Styrax Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 200,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $68,358,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 4.8% of Styrax Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. One Day In July LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.4% in the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the first quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Argus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $593.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is still viewed favorably versus a peer in advanced packaging, with commentary highlighting its AI-related packaging exposure, broad chipmaking portfolio, and high-margin services as reasons it may be a safer long-term bet. AMAT vs. Q: Which Advanced Packaging Stock is a Safer Bet Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to AI-led semiconductor demand, with Applied Materials repeatedly cited as one of the stocks benefiting from ongoing chip investment and stronger equipment spending. Buy These 5 Semiconductor Stocks Charged Up by AI Enthusiasm
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced it will report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on August 13, and recent previews suggest analysts expect another double-digit earnings increase, which can support sentiment ahead of the print. What to Expect From Applied Materials' Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s short-interest update appears to be data-noisy, showing zero shares outstanding and no meaningful days-to-cover signal, so it is unlikely to be a real trading driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials remains part of a broader semiconductor sector that is experiencing profit-taking and valuation-driven consolidation after a powerful AI rally, which is weighing on sentiment across the group. Semiconductor Crossroads: Healthy Consolidation or Deeper Repricing?
• Negative Sentiment: The pullback in semiconductor names suggests investors are locking in gains and reassessing high expectations, which is pressuring AMAT along with the rest of the sector despite solid fundamentals.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $536.25 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $544.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.08. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials Company 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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