Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $270.00 to $250.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 34.63% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.24.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded down $2.87 on Tuesday, hitting $185.69. 2,491,573 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,040,372. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $141.94 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $153.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $190.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in 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.