Cache Advisors LLC Invests $4.65 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Cache Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 13,617 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,654,000. Applied Materials accounts for 0.5% of Cache Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Great Waters Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $224,000. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% in the first quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 7,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,523,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 24.8% in the first quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 241.1% in the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 5,444 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Argus increased their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.26.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Applied Materials to Buy, adding to a growing list of bullish analyst calls and reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled two new chipmaking systems for next-generation AI chips, highlighting new product momentum in its core semiconductor equipment business and potential demand tied to AI infrastructure.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary and analyst notes continue to suggest AI-driven semiconductor spending could support Applied Materials’ premium valuation and future earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a disclosure that may get attention but does not by itself signal a change in the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials fell alongside other chip names after a report that SK Hynix is slowing HBM expansion, which raised concerns about near-term AI-chip demand across the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage also flagged AMAT’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, suggesting investors may be more sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations.

Applied Materials Trading Down 8.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $585.88 on Wednesday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $459.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $370.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $641.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.01, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

About Applied Materials

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.