Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Short Interest Update

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,710,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the October 15th total of 15,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after buying an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after buying an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 252.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 3,389 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $168.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $141.94 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $190.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.73.

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 $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. 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 anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

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.