The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $202.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $230.00 to $202.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.36% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on AMAT. TD Cowen cut their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.43.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $6.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.66. 1,988,395 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,362,340. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $174.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.58. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $148.48 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $138.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.