Susquehanna Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $170.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Susquehanna from $190.00 to $170.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 8.90% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.24.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.61 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $153.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $141.94 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JT Stratford LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the first 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. 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.