Vega Investment Solutions Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

27 Aug 2026, 05:50 by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat Gem

Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 32,417 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,681,000. Applied Materials makes up 3.2% of Vega Investment Solutions’ holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 276,692 shares of company stock worth $169,030,834 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure is supporting a new growth cycle. Chipmakers are increasing spending on advanced DRAM, high-bandwidth memory, leading-edge logic and advanced packaging—all areas that benefit Applied Materials’ semiconductor equipment business. The company’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 24.8% year over year, with earnings and revenue exceeding analyst expectations. Applied Materials Enters a New AI-Driven Growth Cycle
Positive Sentiment: Services and parts demand remain resilient. Applied Materials’ Applied Global Services (AGS) division reportedly reached record revenue and expanded margins, helped by subscription services, parts demand and higher semiconductor-fab utilization. This recurring revenue can provide stability across equipment cycles. AMAT’s AGS Business Gains Momentum
Positive Sentiment: Analysts see potential upside after the recent selloff. Consensus price targets imply roughly 35% upside, while another report cited an average target near $641. However, these targets depend on continued earnings-estimate improvements and sustained AI spending. Analyst Upside Potential for AMAT
Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho remains constructive but lowered its target. The firm reduced its price target from $650 to $590 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term outlook despite expected upside. Mizuho AMAT Price Target Update
Negative Sentiment: China exposure is the main overhang. Tighter export controls and the emergence of Chinese domestic immersion DUV lithography systems are raising concerns about Applied Materials’ competitiveness and future China sales. Reports caution that not all of the company’s approximately $2.087 billion in quarterly China revenue is immediately threatened, but investors are still pricing in greater regulatory and competitive risk. Applied Materials’ China Problem Is Getting Worse

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1%

Applied Materials stock opened at $479.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $380.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $556.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $455.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.76.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.