Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) PT Lowered to $235.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target dropped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.35% from the company’s current price.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.90.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $201.97 on Thursday. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $194.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $167.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JT Stratford LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% 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. The company 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.