Evercore ISI Begins Coverage on Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Equities researchers at Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target indicates a potential upside of 26.41% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AMAT. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.0 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $205.68 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $200.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.34. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $109.00 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.