Vltava Fund, a value-focused investment management company, published its investor letter for the second quarter of 2026. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The letter explores the growing role of AI and how certain facets of human intelligence may become less valuable economically, while other skills become more important. The author emphasizes that despite AI’s expanding capabilities in information collection and basic modeling, qualities like sound judgment, good taste, patience, original thinking, strategic skepticism, and the ability to recognize significance will continue to hold their value. Despite the excitement around A.I., fundamental investment principles remain unchanged. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Vltava Fund highlighted Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT). Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is a leading supplier of materials engineering solutions, equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor and related industries. On July 2, 2026, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) closed at $603.04 per share. One-month return of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) was 33.12%, and its shares gained 215.65% over the past 52 weeks. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has a market capitalization of $493.22 billion.
Vltava Fund stated the following regarding Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
“During the second quarter, we sold out four stock positions and added two new ones to the portfolio. We sold the troika Lam Research, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), and KLA Corporation, all of which are key suppliers of manufacturing equipment and process control solutions for the semiconductor industry. These are undoubtedly excellent businesses, without which it would be impossible to produce increasingly advanced chips. Nevertheless, once the valuations of even the best companies begin to reach levels of 20× sales and 50× earnings, the balance between quality and price shifts significantly to the investor’s disadvantage. In such a situation, it is no longer enough simply to recognize that these are excellent companies. It is also necessary for future growth, margins, and return on capital to remain exceptionally high over the long term and for practically no significant risks to materialize. In our view, this is an overly demanding and speculative combination. Despite the ongoing semiconductor boom, it is still good to remember that this is a pretty cyclical industry. There remained no margin of safety between price and value to speak of, and the high prices were therefore our impetus to sell.”
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) ranks 39 on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 138 hedge fund portfolios held Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) at the end of the first quarter, up from 111 in the previous quarter. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) reported record revenue of $7.91 billion, up 13% sequentially and 11% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) and shared the list of stocks Jim Cramer commented on. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
