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

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target dropped by Mizuho from $220.00 to $210.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 22.74% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.3 %

AMAT stock traded down $5.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $171.09. 2,356,158 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,417,378. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.58. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $148.48 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 17,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,053,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $306,000. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 32.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,416 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,110,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by 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.