Needham & Company LLC Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $195.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $200.00 to $195.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.82% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.10.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $184.27 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.85. The firm has a market cap of $149.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 223,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,910,000 after purchasing an additional 27,348 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after buying an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $400,000. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 8,633 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 858 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.