Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Cut to $250.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $270.00 to $250.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 36.77% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.24.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $182.79 on Tuesday. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $141.94 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $190.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 for 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 period last year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 397.1% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 580,917 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $117,374,000 after acquiring an additional 464,061 shares in the last quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 833.7% in the 3rd quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 82,138 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $16,596,000 after purchasing an additional 73,341 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,702 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 61,905 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,508,000 after buying an additional 16,137 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.