Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Evercore ISI

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by investment analysts at Evercore ISI in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $209.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 29.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $161.76 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $184.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.65. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $129.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Shelton Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the second quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.8% during the second quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the second quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in 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.