Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Rating Lowered by Dbs Bank

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

AMAT has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.00.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $196.71 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $199.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 8.5% during the fourth 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. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 197,905 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,074,000 after acquiring an additional 19,033 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently 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.