Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,330,000 shares, a decrease of 21.6% from the July 15th total of 15,730,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,920,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $201.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $166.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $222.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 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.