Applied Materials (AMAT) PT Raised to $43 at Needham & Company Following 'Very Strong’' F1Q17 Bookings
Needham & Company analyst Y. Edwin Mok reiterates Buy rating and raises price target on Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) to $43 (from $40) noting “very strong” bookings and positive guidance, as the company reported 2017 fiscal first quarter revenue and EPS above estimates.
Mok comments, "The very strong F1Q17 (Jan) bookings and F2Q17 (Apr) guidance that is likely above buy-side expectations should silence any critics on AMAT's ability to continue to deliver profitable growth. Certainly, investors will likely continue to fear a softer CY2H17 especially with the exceptional near-term performance, but management sounded confident that its FY2H17 will at least grow YoY, supported by more back-end loaded Display revenue, broadening of foundry/logic demand, as well as AMAT's own share gains and solid product momentum. We continue to believe AMAT's strategy of targeting differentiated products around industry inflections will drive multiple years of profitable growth ahead, supporting a higher stock price."