The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $230.00 to $202.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.36% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.43.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.6 %

AMAT stock traded down $6.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $170.66. 1,988,395 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,362,340. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $174.14 and a 200-day moving average of $193.58. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $148.48 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 392.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 443 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 221.8% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 22,321 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,630,000 after acquiring an additional 15,385 shares in the last quarter. Park National Corp OH grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 1,355 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $275,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.