Woodline Partners LP Purchases 248,371 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Applied Materials by 44.1%, acquiring an additional 248,371 shares to reach a total of 811,978 shares during the first quarter.
• Insider Activity: CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares at an average price of $178.60, reducing their position by 9.59%.
• Analyst Ratings: Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price ranging between $180.00 and $220.00 from various analysts.

Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 44.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 811,978 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 248,371 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 0.8% of Woodline Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.10% of Applied Materials worth $117,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $449,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 173.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 135,001 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,591,000 after acquiring an additional 85,667 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $281,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 32.3% in the first quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,889 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 2,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in Applied Materials by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 469 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Cfra Research raised shares of Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.4%

AMAT opened at $162.05 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The company has a market cap of $129.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.60 and a 200 day moving average of $164.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.

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