Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets close on Thursday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $0.25 in earnings per share (EPS) on $2.24 billion in revenue. In the same period of the previous year, it posted EPS of $0.27 and $2.36 billion in revenue.
This semiconductor capital equipment leader has lagged the overall tech market over the past year. Applied Materials is trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and for patient investors may be a high-quality pick now. The company is the global leader in precision materials engineering solutions for the semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic industries. Applied Material’s technologies help make innovations like smartphones, flat screen TVs and solar panels more affordable and accessible to consumers and businesses around the world.
The company reported lousy earnings in August, and the stock hit a two-year low on the huge late month sell-off. Despite the rough patch, earnings were favorable in November and there was a handy recovery. However, since that time it seems that investors have been unable to make up their minds as the stock has ranged between $15 and $18.50 in just 2016 alone.
A few analysts weighed in on Applied Materials prior to the earnings report:
- Goldman Sachs has a Conviction Buy rating with a $22 price target.
- Stifel reiterated a Buy rating.
- Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $22 price target.
So far in 2016, Applied Materials has underperformed the market, with the stock down 8% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is down 28%.
Shares of Applied Materials were trading down 0.4% at $17.07 on Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $21.60 and a 52-week trading range of $14.25 to $25.64.
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