Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,190,000 shares, a growth of 17.7% from the August 15th total of 12,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $1.95 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $186.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,376,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,066,247. The stock has a market cap of $153.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $204.08 and a 200 day moving average of $210.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $276,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.