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Adam Sanders, the Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), recently sold a portion of his holdings in the company. According to an SEC filing, Sanders disposed of 271 shares of common stock on February 24, 2025, at an average price of $172.725 per share, totaling approximately $46,808. The semiconductor equipment giant, currently valued at $134 billion, has seen its shares trade near the 52-week low of $158.96, despite maintaining strong financial health according to InvestingPro analysis.
Following this transaction, Sanders retains direct ownership of 6,479 shares. This figure includes 5,782 restricted stock units that are set to convert into common stock over the next few years, contingent on his continued employment. These units are scheduled to vest in installments from April 2025 through January 2029. InvestingPro subscribers can access 13 additional key insights about Applied Materials, including detailed analysis of management’s share buyback activities and the company’s dividend history.
In other recent news, Applied Materials reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded both Stifel’s and consensus estimates, although the company anticipates a 1% quarter-over-quarter revenue decline in the upcoming quarter due to new export controls in China. Stifel analysts maintained a Buy rating with a $235 price target, suggesting potential growth in leading-edge sectors could sustain year-over-year growth. Meanwhile, Needham analysts also upheld a Buy rating but reduced their price target to $195, citing the company’s mixed performance in China and potential early recovery from the downturn. Craig-Hallum adjusted their price target for Applied Materials to $205, maintaining a Buy recommendation, as the company projects growth in leading-edge logic and foundry spending, driven by AI investments. However, Applied Materials is preparing for challenges in its mature node ICAPS business and new trade restrictions on China, which are expected to impact their Services business by $400 million in fiscal year 2025. In other developments, Applied Materials launched the SEMVision™ H20 system, a new defect review tool designed to enhance chip manufacturing by integrating eBeam technology with AI image recognition. This tool promises faster and more accurate defect detection, which has already been adopted by leading logic and memory chipmakers.
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