Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was upgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $260.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $220.00. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.57% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.13.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $210.41 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.29. The stock has a market cap of $174.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $109.00 and a 1-year high of $214.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,505,000. Cowa LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $76,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 79,147.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,726,422 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $557,639,000 after buying an additional 5,719,196 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,609,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,388,933,000 after buying an additional 1,925,722 shares during the last quarter. 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.