Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives $215.64 Average Target Price from Analysts

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $219.04.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $228.16 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $228.83.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,598,500 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.