Applied Materials' Bookings Likely To Grow Near Term
David Ng, 11.17.05, 11:32 AM ET
Piper Jaffray maintained a "market perform" rating and $18 target price on Applied Materials (nasdaq: AMAT - news - people ), citing better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
"Applied Materials reported a very strong quarter, with revenues, margins, earnings per share, and bookings all better than guidance," Piper analyst C. William Lu wrote in a recent report.
For the fiscal first quarter, Applied Materials guided for a 7% to 10% sequential increase in bookings. The company forecasts earnings per share between 14 cents and 15 cents, including 2 cents per share of stock-based compensation. This compares to the consensus estimate of 17 cents per share excluding the stock-based compensation.
Applied Materials expects revenue between $1.77 billion and $1.80 billion, versus consensus of $1.72 billion.
"Applied Materials shares are likely to trade down in the near term," Piper said, "but looking beyond investors' disappointment with the guidance, bookings are likely to grow for at least the next two quarters."
The research firm raised the fiscal 2006 and 2007 earnings-per-share estimates on Applied Materials to 65 cents and 80 cents, respectively, from 63 cents and 68 cents. |
