Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) PT Raised to $142.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $139.00 to $142.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 8.27% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, September 15th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.89.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $154.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $140.11 and its 200 day moving average is $138.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.30. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $93.68 and a fifty-two week high of $157.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.27% and a return on equity of 49.29%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,907,690.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 98,769.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 811,480,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $117,291,355,000 after purchasing an additional 810,659,490 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 71,782,658 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,375,465,000 after buying an additional 2,033,896 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,434,684 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,720,928,000 after buying an additional 301,010 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 36,698,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,304,331,000 after acquiring an additional 3,865,159 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the second quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,882,645 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,018,370,000 after purchasing an additional 160,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.