UBS Group Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at UBS Group in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $185.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $175.00. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 3.27% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.09.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.0%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $179.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.80. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The stock has a market cap of $143.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Skye Global Management LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,640,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Finally, Humankind Investments LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.