Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Capital Growth Management, led by Ken Heebner, assembled the most valuable position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT). Capital Growth Management had $66.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Mike Masters’ Masters Capital Management also made a $30.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. Two other funds with new positions in the stock are Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Capital and Charles Clough’s Clough Capital Partners.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT). These stocks are Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD), V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC), PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL), and Deere & Company (NYSE:DE). All of these stocks’ market caps are similar to AMAT’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 22 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.21 billion at the end of September. That figure was $2.53 billion in AMAT’s case. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD) is the least popular one with only 17 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.