Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from B. Riley Financial

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target trimmed by B. Riley Financial from $700.00 to $475.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 price objective (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $625.76.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $395.08 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $440.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $445.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $203.40 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $313.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

These are some of the AMAT headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: ETF flows were supportive: funds reportedly bought $317.1 million of AMAT on Monday, though this is a single-day snapshot. Article: ETFs Bought $317.1 Million of Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity points to expectations of a potentially large post-earnings move, signaling heightened uncertainty rather than a clear directional bet. Article: Ahead of Applied Materials Earnings, What Barchart Data Says
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst valuation views have cooled: one fair-value estimate was trimmed, and B. Riley lowered its price target substantially to $475, although it still sees potential upside from the current level. Margin caution and uncertainty around China demand remain risks. Article: Applied Materials Stock Gets Fair Value Trim As Margin Caution Offsets AI Demand Article: B. Riley Cut Its Applied Materials Target to $475

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.