Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $235.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.35% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AMAT. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.90.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $201.97 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $194.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $167.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 126.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after purchasing an additional 973,218 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.