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Applied Materials, Inc.

  • This Chip Equipment Maker Is a Bargain If Capital Returned to Shareholders

    By Ted Cooper - May 13, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, ASMI, KLIC

    Capital allocation can make or break an investment. For growing companies, capital allocation is pretty simple -- if the growth provides an adequate return on investment, then companies should devote as much excess capital as possible to growing the business.

    However, for companies that are unable to re-invest all excess cash flow at a high rate of return, capital allocation decisions become key to the value created for shareholders. Such is more »

  • 6 Solar Stocks The World’s Smartest Investors Are Holding

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - May 7, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, FSLR, GTAT, WFR, SPWR

    Empirical research has found that it has been possible for piggyback buyers to beat the market by 18 percentage points a year while following hedge funds' best picks; learn how they did it here. It’s for this reason that we’re going to take a look at hedge funds’ interest in one particular segment of the energy marketplace.

    Energy is one of the most important topics in the world more »

  • What to Focus on As Risk Aversion Rises for Tech Stocks?

    By Chris Lau - April 22, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, FSLR, NFLX

    A significantly large gap between consensus analyst targets and the share price of companies is a starting point for investors screening for investing ideas in a down market. After the Dow dropped a net 200 points last week and the Nasdaq dropped 80 points, opportunities will arise for the patient investor.

    Since companies in the technology sector tend to act as a leading indicator for markets, they are worth a more »

  • What to Focus on as Risk Aversion Rises for Tech Stocks

    By Chris Lau - April 17, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, FSLR, NFLX, XRX

    A significantly large gap between consensus analyst targets and the share price of companies is a starting point for investors screening for investing ideas in a down market. After the Dow dropped a net 200 points on the week of April 15 2013 while the Nasdaq dropped 80 points, opportunities will arise for the patient investor.

    Since companies in the technology sector tend to act as a leading indicator for more »

  • A Tech Buy and 2 Sells As the Nasdaq Reaches New Heights

    By Chris Lau - April 16, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, CIEN, MCHP

    The seemingly unstoppable rise in the Nasdaq Index is disconcerting for bearish investors and for those looking for an entry point. The equal-weighted Nasdaq 100, as measured by the ETF (QQQE) rose again on the week of April 8. The index is now up 15.64% for the year-to-date. How should investors interpret bearish activity? Some of the companies with the largest short interest volume on the Nasdaq index are more »

  • A Tech Buy and 2 Sells As the Nasdaq Reaches New Heights

    By Chris Lau - April 16, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, CIEN, MCHP

    The seemingly unstoppable rise in the Nasdaq Index is disconcerting for bearish investors and for those looking for an entry point. The equal-weighted Nasdaq 100, as measured by the ETF (QQQE) rose again on the week of April 8. The index is now up 15.64% for the year-to-date. How should investors interpret bearish activity? Some of the companies with the largest short interest volume on the Nasdaq index are more »

  • A Tech Stock Buy and 2 Sells as Nasdaq Reaches New Heights

    By Chris Lau - April 13, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, CIEN, MCHP

    The seemingly unstoppable rise in the Nasdaq Index is disconcerting for bearish investors and for those looking for an entry point. The equal-weighted Nasdaq 100, as measured by the ETF (QQQE) rose again on the week of April 8. The index is now up 15.64% for the year-to-date. How should investors interpret bearish activity? Some of the companies with the largest short interest volume on the Nasdaq index are more »

  • Corning Is Cheap, But Is it a Buy?

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - March 24, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, CRUS, GLW, FIO, QCOM

    We like to at least take a look at stocks that meet traditional value criteria, and Corning (NYSE: GLW) qualifies with a trailing earnings multiple of only 11. At that price, the market is assuming very little if any growth -- which, in theory, makes it easier for companies in that valuation range to beat expectations. When we look at Corning, however, we see that its margins plunged last year compared more »

  • 4 Speculative Tech Stocks to Watch as Markets Get Frothy

    By Chris Lau - March 21, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, GRPN, NVDA, OCZ

    The unprecedented rise in the stock market is making it difficult for investors to differentiate between good companies and good investments. In the technology sector, stocks tend to be a leading indicator on economic health. The Nasdaq index is up 5.74% year-to-date, as measured by the PowerShares QQQ ETF. By contrast, the broader S&P 500 index is up 9.81% in 2013, appearing to outperform the technology sector more »

  • The Hidden Upside in These Stocks

    By Lee Samaha - March 7, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, CGNX, DOV, INTC

    Last year was a pretty tough one for the semiconductor industry. The year started off with the industry expecting a second half ramp that didn’t occur. In fact things got worse. All of which leads into a 2013 which sees, you guessed it, a second half ramp predicted.

    Frankly I think it is too simplistic to think about the industry in general terms. This may have been the case more »

  • Once-in-a-Lifetime Buy in Clean Energy

    By Paul Franke - March 4, 2013 | Tickers: AEIS, AMAT, FAN, GTAT, PWER

    If you believe, like we do, fossil fuel prices will continue to outpace general inflation rates in coming years, now may be “the” best time to acquire alternative and Clean Energy investments at incredibly low, out-of-favor valuations.  As the cost of technologically advanced, clean power and energy generation continues to decline, we are on the verge of an important crossover in demand curves for renewable energy versus the traditional, consumable, combustible and finite resources of coal, oil and gas.

  • Four Analyst Upgrades on Tuesday Worth Noting

    By Brian Nichols - February 28, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, BEAV, IP, SNDK

    An analyst’s call can be a major swing in momentum for a stock. In the past I have written in detail about such subjects, as a call can often create a domino effect of revised outlooks and either buying or selling of a stock. In this piece I am looking at four stocks that traded with excessive volatility thanks to the notes issued by analysts; these are all calls more »

  • The Surging Net Payout Yield of Seagate Technology

    By Mark Holder - January 30, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, MSI, STX

    When Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) reported earnings on Monday night, it confirmed that the company had continued a massive buyback spree that began in January of 2012. Along with a current 4.5% dividend yield, the stock provides a massive net payout yield (NPY) of almost 30%.

    The company is a worldwide leader in hard disk drives and storage solutions.

    Seagate dropped over 9% as investors were disappointed with results more »

  • Expensive or Worth It?

    By Jon Quast - January 24, 2013 | Tickers: AMAT, EQIX, FB, LNKD, RAX

    The current industry price to earnings average for the technology sector is 22.50. (as of 1-22-13)  This got me thinking: what companies trade for more than double the industry average?  More importantly, which of these high valuation companies are truly worth the price?

    I came up with several prospects, but I've picked out five companies for us to look at.

    1. Linkedin (NYSE: LNKD)
    2. Facebook (NASDAQ: FB)
    3. Applied Materials more »

  • Cash In on Chip Wars, Part Three

    By A. Colin Flood - January 1, 2013 | Tickers: ADI, AMAT, TXN

    As Apple and the smart phone and tablets change the chip markets, Applied Materials, Analog Devices, Texas Instruements and HTC maybe poised to profit

  • Are You Playing the Semiconductor Industry Correctly?

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - December 27, 2012 | Tickers: AMAT, INTC, KLAC, QCOM, TXN

    Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) provides manufacturing equipment for semiconductor companies. The tech company offers products for front-end and computing applications. The slowdown in the PC and computer markets has pressured this space, given that over two-thirds of semiconductors are used in PCs. Billionaire Steven Cohen of SAC Capital added Applied Materials to his portfolio last quarter (check out Steven Cohen's top picks).

    Applied Materials is expected to still see more »

  • 3 Stocks You Can Buy At 20% Off

    By Chad Henage - December 17, 2012 | Tickers: ALTR, AMAT, INTC

    Investors seem to be ignoring some significant values and they are all in the semiconductor industry. Despite its challenges, I own Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and believe that today's semiconductor king will be a great investment for patient long-term investors. Much has been made about the company's challenges in the mobile market, but there is no getting around the fact that Intel basically owns the desktop, laptop, and server markets. Given Intel's massive research and development budget and close ties to many PC manufacturers, I seriously doubt that the company will be locked out of the mobile market for long. With this in mind, I recently ran a screen on Fool.com CAPS Screener for other semiconductor stocks that are down at least 20% from their 52 week high.

  • 5 Stocks Dumped By Billionaire Ray Dalio

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - December 14, 2012 | Tickers: AMAT, BBY, ETN, INTC, SYMC

    Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates out of his apartment in 1973 and after 28 years, he gave up the title of CEO last year. Dalio is now “mentor” and continues to serve as co-CIO. Bridgewater manages institutional money only, around $120 billion, with the true uniqueness of the firm being its culture – driven by utter transparency. We have researched Bridgewater’s recent 13F filing - which reports publicly traded equity positions more »

  • A Deeper Look into Cramer's Nov. 30 Lightning Round.

    By Dr. Osman Gulseven - December 7, 2012 | Tickers: AGU, AMAT, CF, VALE, POT, RNF

    First aired in 2005, CNBC's Mad Money show is one of the most popular finance shows on air. Jim Cramer, the host and former hedge fund manager, has one goal: to help stock traders make some “mad money” by explaining to them the rules of the Wall Street game. During the Lightning Round, he accepts callers' challenges and comments on several stocks. Here, I review the three stocks discussed more »

  • Despite Challenges, Semiconductor Producers Still Running Hot

    By David Gould - November 16, 2012 | Tickers: AMAT, LRCX, NVLS

    Although the semiconductor market has been in a trough, companies are valued based on future potential. Several factors have caused market-wide undervaluation. First, investors have overreacted to a slowdown in demand--mistaking the effects of isolated natural disasters as a structural issue. Second, rising emerging market growth and rising interest in smartphone and tablets provide promising returns. However, some companies are better equipped for growth than others. Below, I consider the more »

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