Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup from $202.00 to $170.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the manufacturing equipment provider's stock. Citigroup's target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.88% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.24.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $0.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.45. The stock had a trading volume of 5,243,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,619,529. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.87. Applied Materials has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. 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 initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in Applied Materials by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $27,663,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.