NEOS Investment Management LLC Has $69.88 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 64.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 341,327 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 133,453 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.5% of NEOS Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $69,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $410,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,391 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.03.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $354.91 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.28. The company has a market cap of $281.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $376.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 / earnings & management guidance — AMAT beat Q4 consensus and management gave very strong forward commentary (CEO projected ~20% calendar‑2026 sales growth and robust Q2 revenue guidance), which is the main driver behind the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and target hikes — Several firms raised ratings/targets (Needham raised its target to $440; other outlets reported $420–$440 lifts and upgrades from Summit Insights and reiterations at B. Riley), signaling higher sell‑side conviction and attracting buying interest. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI / memory cycle tailwinds — Analyst commentary and sector pieces highlight a near‑$1T chip investment cycle driven by AI spending and defense/backlog demand; Applied benefits as a leading equipment supplier for logic and memory. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Memory opportunity thesis — Coverage highlighting AMAT as a plays‑on‑memory and AI capex (memory stocks seen as the “next big AI buying opportunity”) supports demand expectations for Applied’s tools and services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market action / sector split — Recent market pieces note AMAT among the chip names that gained while some peers lagged, reflecting stock‑specific strength vs. broader semiconductor dispersion. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data appears anomalous — February short interest reports in the feed show zero shares / 0.0 days (likely a data glitch), so there’s no clear signal of rising short pressure from that item.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.