Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports.
Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. Vetr upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.11 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, September 28th. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 20th. Finally, Nomura restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.95.
Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) opened at $54.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 3.14. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $31.86 and a 12-month high of $60.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $57,680.00, a PE ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.81.
In other news, VP Ali Salehpour sold 125,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $6,440,183.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Forrest sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.67, for a total value of $214,680.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 312,716 shares of company stock worth $16,218,746 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. QUANTRES ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $516,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% during the third quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 6,119,749 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $318,778,000 after purchasing an additional 64,186 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Trust Group LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1,892.7% during the third quarter. Atlantic Trust Group LLC now owns 862,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $44,932,000 after purchasing an additional 819,292 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.5% during the third quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 123,001 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $190,000. 79.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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About Applied Materials
