Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $174.75 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 $209.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.12. 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 $144.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.