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Executive at Chip-Equipment Maker Offloads Shares Amid Strong Performance

An important executive at Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) offloaded a sizable block of shares last week. Omkaram Nalamasu, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, liquidated 99,491 shares on Thursday at prices that fell between $30.15 and $30.16 a share, cutting his ownership to 343,452 shares.

The chip-gear maker has seen its market capitalization increase by a whopping 60% since the start of the year. In late-August, analysts at JPMorgan reiterated their ‘Overweight’ rating on Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) and increased their December price target to $32 from $27, citing “operating-margin expansion opportunity on continued share gains, served available market (SAM) expansion and solid operational execution within a flattish semiconductor-spending environment.” The hedge fund sentiment towards the chip-equipment firm was positive in the second quarter of 2016 as well, as the number of funds in our system invested in the company rose to 47 from 39 quarter-over-quarter. John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies owns 5.22 million shares of Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) as of the end of the June quarter.

Tenneco Executive Discards Shares Despite Strong Performance

One member of Tenneco Inc. (NYSE:TEN)’s executive team also offloaded a sizable block of shares this past week. Timothy E. Jackson, Executive Vice President of Technology, Strategy and Business Development, discarded 35,872 units of common stock on Thursday at prices varying from $55.17 to $55.77 per unit. Following the recent sale, Mr. Jackson currently holds an ownership stake of 42,429 shares.

The shares of the manufacturer of clean air and ride performance products and systems for light vehicle, commercial truck and off-highway applications are up by 23% year-to-date. Tenneco Inc. (NYSE:TEN) anticipates revenue growth of 7% in the third quarter of this year, beating estimated aggregate industry production growth of 5%. The third-quarter revenue growth is expected to be driven by stronger global light vehicle volumes and a strong contribution from the global aftermarket. Tenneco also anticipates sustained year-over-year adjusted margin expansion for the rest of the year. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital reported owning around 582,000 shares of Tenneco Inc. (NYSE:TEN) through the latest round of 13F filings.

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