Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $195.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 34.43% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AMAT. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.8 %

AMAT opened at $145.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $167.33 and a 200 day moving average of $176.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $144.12 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $117.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.