Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $230.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $260.00 to $230.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective points to a potential upside of 10.22% from the company’s previous close.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.56.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $3.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $208.68. The company had a trading volume of 7,883,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,980,201. The company has a market capitalization of $172.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $222.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.13. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JT Stratford LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.6% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in Applied Materials by 3.3% during the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.