Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Target Cut by Morgan Stanley

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $563.00 to $538.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 41.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on AMAT. Weiss Ratings downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $632.01.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded up $6.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $380.70. 1,909,063 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,851,924. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $203.40 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $455.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.