Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.55 on Friday, hitting $166.74. 5,678,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,952,357. The company's 50 day moving average price is $152.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.24. Applied Materials has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,055,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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.

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