Citigroup Increases Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $220.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price upped by analysts at Citigroup from $190.00 to $220.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.42% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.09.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.44 on Monday, reaching $190.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,724,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,087,949. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $167.47 and a 200-day moving average of $163.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials 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 transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,640,000 after buying an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,538,743 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $250,246,000 after buying an additional 13,667 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.