UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group has reduced its target price for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from $185.00 to $180.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• Despite the downgrade from UBS, analysts have mixed opinions, with Citigroup raising its target to $220.00 and others lowering theirs, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $196.64.
• Applied Materials shares dropped 12.7% on Friday, reaching $164.31, with significant trading volume of over 12 million shares.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at UBS Group from $185.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the manufacturing equipment provider's stock. UBS Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 9.55% from the company's current price.

AMAT has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $196.64.

Applied Materials Stock Down 12.7%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $23.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $164.31. The company had a trading volume of 12,876,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,271,188. The company has a market cap of $131.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.70. The firm's fifty day moving average is $184.28 and its 200-day moving average is $166.78. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.6% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,991,467 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $913,788,000 after acquiring an additional 172,563 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 79.9% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 38,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,083,000 after acquiring an additional 17,179 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 64.2% during the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 506,215 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $89,163,000 after acquiring an additional 198,002 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.5% during the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 90,180 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $16,509,000 after acquiring an additional 34,348 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 806,126 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $147,577,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 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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