Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT ) Bernstein's 40th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference May 30, 2024 2:30 PM ET Company Participants Gary Dickerson - President and Chief Executive Officer Conference Call Participants Stacy Rasgon - Bernstein Stacy Rasgon Thank you for coming. Good afternoon, I'm Stacy Rasgon, I cover the U.S. Semiconductor and semi cap equipment space here at Bernstein.
At this point, directly betting against semiconductor stocks – especially if they're named Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA ) – should first come with a warning. The sector continues to defy gravity, with demand seemingly pointing to a limitless ceiling.
Applied Materials received a subpoena from the U.S. Commerce department's Bureau of Industry and Security in May, it disclosed in a filing on Thursday.
Micron Technology's growth has accelerated significantly and the company seems capable of sustaining its momentum thanks to AI. Applied Materials has been a top stock over the past decade, and it could keep heading higher as the demand for semiconductor equipment grows.
Semiconductor stocks continue to be a hot corner of the market. As the technology that enables artificial intelligence applications and models, demand for shares of companies that design and fabricate microchips and semiconductors is growing exponentially.
While seemingly everyone loves talking up environmental, social and governance ( ESG ) initiatives, ESG stocks to buy present a challenge. It's difficult to get over the reputation that doing good for others will invariably lead to a lack of profitability.
Applied Materials supplies some of the biggest semiconductor companies in the world.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 8th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the manufacturing equipment provider on Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials has increased its dividend payment by an average of 11.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. Applied Materials has a dividend payout ratio of 16.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Applied Materials to earn $9.36 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.1%. Applied Materials Stock Performance Shares of AMAT stock opened at $212.08 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $204.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.44. Applied Materials has a one year low of $120.18 and a one year high of $219.36. The stock has a market cap of $176.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.19 EPS for the current year. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley increased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.64. Get Our Latest Report on AMAT About Applied Materials (Get Free Report) 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.
Depending on where you look, the valuations of some of the more crowded semiconductor stocks may be getting a bit too hot to handle amid this stage in the AI boom. Undoubtedly, the AI revolution is changing the work world, and soon, the world's most powerful large language models (LLMs) may find a home in our devices in addition to the cloud.
Revenue of $6.65 billion beat guidance of $6.5 billion. Non-GAAP EPS of $2.09 beat guidance range of $1.79 to $2.15.
Applied Materials' (AMAT) second-quarter fiscal 2024 results benefit from the solid momentum in the AGS and Display segments amid softness in Semiconductor Systems.
Investors may have noticed a recent hype surrounding technology stocks, with a particular niche calling for additional attention. Those in the semiconductor industry responsible for making all of artificial intelligence's promises today have seen preferential treatment from the markets and Wall Street analysts.