Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Downgraded by DZ Bank to Sell

Key Points

• DZ Bank has reaffirmed a "sell" rating for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) with a price target of $150.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.75% from its current price.
• The stock experienced a 11.7% drop, trading at $166.20 recently, and has a market cap of $133.37 billion with a PE ratio of 20.24.
• Analysts currently rate the stock as a "Moderate Buy" on average with a consensus target price of $196.84, amidst varying ratings from other firms.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at DZ Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $150.00 price objective on the manufacturing equipment provider's stock. DZ Bank's price objective points to a potential downside of 8.27% from the company's previous close.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $1.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $163.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,099,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,417,851. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $215.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $184.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.54. The company has a market capitalization of $131.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.70. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 23.88%. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Applied Materials by 435.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is 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.