Citigroup Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $205.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Citigroup from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 26.73% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $161.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The company has a market cap of $129.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $184.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 23.88%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors 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.