Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $164.00 to $162.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.16% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $165.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $134.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.35.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 44.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 811,978 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $117,834,000 after buying an additional 248,371 shares during the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $449,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 173.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 135,001 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,591,000 after buying an additional 85,667 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 32.3% during the first quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,889 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after buying an additional 2,661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.