Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the manufacturing equipment provider's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price target indicates a potential upside of 27.94% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AMAT. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.24.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $171.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $159.66 and a 200-day moving average of $162.88.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,085,600,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2,401.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $445,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944,193 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,691,428 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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