JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $210.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.83% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $165.57 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $149.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.35. The firm has a market cap of $134.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during 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.