Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $200.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $210.00 to $200.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 15.17% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.24.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $173.65 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $149.84 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $141.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $339,000. Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 55,620 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,045,000 after buying an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 7,736 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 3,059 shares during the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 206,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,641,000 after buying an additional 12,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 40,258 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,547,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.