Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Rating Reiterated by Needham & Company LLC

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $240.00 price objective on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.16% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.64.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $212.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $120.18 and a 1-year high of $219.36. The company has a market cap of $176.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $204.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.13.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,379 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $521,000. Olympiad Research LP bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 57,659 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,983,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.