Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $250.00 to $235.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 28.88% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AMAT. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.00.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $182.35. 765,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,119,059. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $148.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.04.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 608 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 22.3% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 11,935 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 63.4% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 344.7% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 20,945 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,232,000 after purchasing an additional 16,235 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,013 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is 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.