Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) PT Lowered to $217.00 at Citigroup

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Citigroup from $240.00 to $217.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.06% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.00.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.5 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $188.59 on Monday. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $201.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, 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. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $276,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,141 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. 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.