Sue Billat's analysis:
Monday November 23, 2:46 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: BancBoston Robertson Stephens
BancBoston Robertson Stephens Reiterates Buy Rating on Applied Materials
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by
BancBoston Robertson Stephens, a member of the National Association of Securities
Dealers, CRD number 41271:
BancBoston Robertson Stephens senior semiconductor equipment analyst Sue Billat
today reiterated a Buy rating on Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT - news). Applied
Materials is the world's leading supplier of semiconductor wafer fab equipment with a
strong position in the PVD, CVD, RTP, etch and ion implant markets and an emerging
position in the CMP as well as the metrology and inspection markets. The company is
located in Santa Clara, California.
Billat expects the industry to receive a further boost from spending on pilot 300mm
wafer lines in early 2000, with full production starting in 2001. As a result, Billat believes that, for the first time since 1995, the industry will experience significant spending on capacity expansions in addition to technology upgrades during 2000 and 2001.
''Accordingly, we are introducing a F2000 EPS estimate for Applied Materials
of $2.00 on $5.0 billion in revenues,'' said Billat. ''We have a 12-18 month price
target of $68-$72 based on a price/earnings multiple of 32x to 36x our F2000
EPS estimate, a valuation which we believe is conservative relative to its prior
peak, a multiple of 38x.'' |
