Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $195.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.28% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on 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, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.84.

Applied Materials Stock Down 14.1%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $161.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.70. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $184.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.65. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $215.70.

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 22.3% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Applied Materials by 9.8% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,387,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $254,459,000 after purchasing an additional 123,911 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 9.1% in the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,888 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,627,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Applied Materials by 37.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 29,044 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,317,000 after purchasing an additional 7,926 shares during the period. Finally, Front Street Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $751,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.