UPDATE: Jefferies Starts Applied Materials (AMAT) at Buy

Jefferies initiated coverage on Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) with a Buy rating and a price target of $28.00.

Analyst Sundeep Bajikar said, "We believe Moore Stress is driving AMAT's merger with TEL. We are confident the merger would complete in 2H14, and translate into increased pricing power and scale benefits. We believe AMAT is best positioned among SemiCap players to benefit from a combination of 1) industry consolidation, 2) technology inflections, and 3) foundry competition. We expect higher margins and cash returns to drive multiple expansion."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Applied Materials click here. For more ratings news on Applied Materials click here.

Shares of Applied Materials closed at $20.19 yesterday.

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