Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Downgraded by Dbs Bank

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Dbs Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. 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. B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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, StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.00.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $196.71 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $162.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.28. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 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.