Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 3% - What's Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was up 3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $168.90 and last traded at $169.16. Approximately 1,600,893 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,925,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $152.23 and a 200 day moving average of $163.24. 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 company has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a PE 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $1,085,600,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 2,401.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $445,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944,193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Applied Materials by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $808,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,428 shares during the last quarter. 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.