Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Mizuho from $220.00 to $210.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 22.74% from the company’s previous close.

AMAT has been the subject of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $5.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,356,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,417,378. The firm has a market cap of $139.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $174.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.58. Applied Materials has a one year low of $148.48 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 97,007 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,776,000 after buying an additional 13,272 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 229.6% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 5,497 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 392.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 443 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in Applied Materials by 221.8% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 22,321 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,630,000 after purchasing an additional 15,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH raised its stake in Applied Materials by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 1,355 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.