Applied Materials’ (AMAT) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $195.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 11.59% from the company’s current price.

AMAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $174.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $148.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.