Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys 225,060 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 222.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,064 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 225,060 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $66,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Welch Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $351.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The firm 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $331.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.02.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

More Applied Materials News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

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.