Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Cut to $210.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $220.00 to $210.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.42% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AMAT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.68.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $188.47 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $204.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.65. Applied Materials has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market cap of $155.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.