Advertisement
Singapore markets close in 1 hour 22 minutes

  • Straits Times Index

    3,140.88
    -42.73 (-1.34%)
     

  • Nikkei

    38,471.20
    -761.60 (-1.94%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    16,255.75
    -344.71 (-2.08%)
     

  • FTSE 100

    7,869.46
    -96.07 (-1.21%)
     

  • Bitcoin USD

    63,696.73
    -2,842.77 (-4.27%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,061.82
    -61.59 (-1.20%)
     

  • Dow

    37,735.11
    -248.13 (-0.65%)
     

  • Nasdaq

    15,885.02
    -290.08 (-1.79%)
     

  • Gold

    2,385.30
    +2.30 (+0.10%)
     

  • Crude Oil

    85.73
    +0.32 (+0.37%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.6280
    0.0000 (0.00%)
     

  • FTSE Bursa Malaysia

    1,537.09
    -5.44 (-0.35%)
     

  • Jakarta Composite Index

    7,183.00
    -103.88 (-1.43%)
     

  • PSE Index

    6,404.97
    -157.46 (-2.40%)
     

Here's Why You Should Bet on Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock

Zacks Equity Research
Updated

Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT is currently one of the top-performing stocks in the technology sector and a rise in share price and strong fundamentals signal its bullish run. Therefore, if you haven’t taken advantage of the share price appreciation yet, it’s time you add the stock to your portfolio.

Why an Attractive Pick?

Share Price Appreciation: A glimpse of the company’s price trend reveals that the stock has had an impressive run on the bourse year to date. Applied Materials returned a whopping 59.9%, comparing favorably with the S&P 500’s gain of 13.1%.

Solid Rank & VGM Score: Applied Materials currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a VGM Score of B. Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 (Buy) offer the best investment opportunities for investors. Thus, the company appears to be a compelling investment proposition at the moment.

ADVERTISEMENT

Northward Estimate Revisions: Six estimates for the current year moved north over the past 60 days versus no southward revisions, reflecting analysts’ confidence in the company. Over the same period, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year increased 4.2%.

Positive Earnings Surprise History: Applied Materials has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, delivering a positive average earnings surprise of 2.7%.

Applied Materials, Inc. Net Income (TTM)

Applied Materials, Inc. Net Income (TTM) | Applied Materials, Inc. Quote

Strong Growth Prospects: The company’s Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 earnings of $3.23 reflects year-over-year growth of 84.3%. Moreover, earnings are expected to register 14.5% growth in 2018. The stock has long-term expected earnings per share growth rate of 17.1%.

Growth Drivers: Applied Materials is riding on inflection-focused innovation strategy that is currently its primary growth driver. The company continues to witness technological advancements in semiconductor and display areas. The ramp up of 3D NAND has led to significant market share gains.

Applied Materials has well-differentiated products and high market share, and is efficiently delivering key enabling technology to logic and foundry customers. The company continues to expect strong products and services demand in the near future driven by continuous adoption of new technologies by semiconductor and display customers.

Applied Materials remains strongly positioned in China where it continues to witness robust growth in semiconductor and display. Growing investments from Chinese domestic manufacturers have been the main catalysts.

Notably, the company has gained considerable success in expanding beyond semiconductors, particularly in display. New display technologies like OLED are opening new market opportunities for Applied Materials.

Applied Materials sees significant opportunities from emerging trends on the semiconductor and display fronts such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud infrastructure, Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality and smart vehicles.

We believe that Applied Materials is in a great position to grow sustainably and profitably based on its strong pipeline of enabling technologies, supported by expanding opportunities on the semiconductor, service and display fronts.

Other Stocks to Consider

Other stocks in the broader technology sector include Micron Technology, Inc. MU, ON Semiconductor Corporation ON and Jabil Inc. JBL, each carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The long-term earnings per share growth rate for Micron, ON Semiconductor and Jabil is projected to be 10%, 18.1% and 12%, respectively.

4 Stocks to Watch after the Massive Equifax Hack

Cybersecurity stocks spiked on recent news of a data breach affecting 143 million Americans. But which stocks are the best buy candidates right now? And what does the future hold for the cybersecurity industry?

Equifax is just the most recent victim. Computer hacking and identity theft are more common than ever. Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investor’s Guide to inform Zacks.com readers about this $170 billion/year space. More importantly, it highlights 4 cybersecurity picks with strong profit potential.

Get the new Investing Guide now>>


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
ON Semiconductor Corporation (ON) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Jabil Circuit, Inc. (JBL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research