Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) PT Raised to $135.00 at Evercore ISI

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Rating) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $125.00 to $135.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, The Fly reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.34% from the stock’s previous close.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $118.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $88.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.96.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $126.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.31. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $71.12 and a 52-week high of $132.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 18th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $6.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 54.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 29,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $3,671,666.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $24,228,960.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 29,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $3,671,666.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $24,228,960.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 6,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $800,118.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 98,332 shares in the company, valued at $11,548,110.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1,666.7% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 212 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 53.2% during the third quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 337 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 55.0% during the third quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 372 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 75.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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Applied Materials, Inc provides manufacturing equipment, services and software to the semiconductor, display and related industries. It operates through the following segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display & Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment includes semiconductor capital equipment for etch, rapid thermal processing, deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, metrology and inspection, wafer packaging, and ion implantation.