Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.68.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $188.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $204.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JT Stratford LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position 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 valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.