Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 199,881 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,377,917 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 199,881 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.42% of Applied Materials worth $690,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. State Street Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after buying an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,836,807,000 after acquiring an additional 407,282 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,160,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,911 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $351.07 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $278.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $331.42 and a 200-day moving average of $260.02. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Long‑term partnership with SK hynix to co‑develop advanced DRAM and high‑bandwidth memory (HBM), with engineers collaborating at Applied’s EPIC Center to accelerate AI memory innovation. Applied Materials and SK Hynix partner for next‑gen AI memory development
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership with Micron to develop next‑generation DRAM, HBM and NAND for energy‑efficient AI systems — market coverage reports and trade commentary show investors treating this as a strategic win for AMAT’s equipment and services revenue. Applied Materials and Micron Partner To Advance U.S. Innovation in Next‑Generation AI Memory Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: Sector commentary and trade notes highlight AMAT as a beneficiary of the AI hardware cycle — outlets and analysts point to AMAT and Micron as winners within the AI trade, supporting near‑term investor demand. AMAT and Micron still winning in AI trade despite QQQ and sector weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Research roundup notes AMAT riding a semiconductor rebound but flags rising risks — this provides context for upside while warning of cyclicality. Top Research Reports for JPMorgan, Johnson & Johnson & Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data in recent feeds shows effectively zero reported short interest (likely a reporting/data artifact), so short‑squeeze risk appears minimal based on available numbers.
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group initiated coverage with a Hold rating, which may temper upside from the partnership headlines for some institutional holders. Erste Group Initiated Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) With a Hold Rating – Here’s Why
• Negative Sentiment: Despite strong free cash flow (Q1 FCF noted), coverage highlighted a recent pullback from highs — reminders of semicon cyclicality and profit‑taking could weigh on near‑term performance. Applied Materials Q1 2026 Free Cash Flow Hit $1.04 Billion, So Why Is the Stock Sliding

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.