Applied Materials (AMAT) Increases Despite Market Slip: Here's What You Need to Know

In the latest trading session, Applied Materials (AMAT) closed at $199.29, marking a +1.11% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.4%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.98%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.18%. The maker of chipmaking equipment's stock has climbed by 11.64% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 6.34% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.97%.The upcoming earnings release of Applied Materials will be of great interest to investors. In that report, analysts expect Applied Materials to post earnings of $2.34 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 10.38%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $7.2 billion, indicating a 6.23% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year. AMAT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $9.47 per share and revenue of $28.82 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +9.48% and +6.04%, respectively. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Applied Materials. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.03% higher. Applied Materials is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Digging into valuation, Applied Materials currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.81. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 27.16. Also, we should mention that AMAT has a PEG ratio of 2.19. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Electronics - Semiconductors industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.6 as of yesterday's close. The Electronics - Semiconductors industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 56, this industry ranks in the top 23% of all industries, numbering over 250. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them 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 Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks