Piper Jaffray Reiterates Overweight, $15 Target on Applied Materials

In a published earnings update, Piper Jaffray maintains Overweight rating and $15 price target on Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) as orders declined and weak outlook on solar and display segments tempered growth.

Piper Jaffray concludes, “AMAT reported Oct '11 results with revenue of $2.18b (-22% q/q. consensus $2.16b; PJC $2.25b) which was in-line with its guidance of $1.95-2.37b. Non GAAP gross margin declined 330 bps q/q to 39.5% on lower revenues and lower factory absorption. Overall orders for the Oct'11 quarter declined -33% q/q to $1,595m with both display and EES (solar) segments declining significantly at -91% q/q and -73% q/q respectively.”

AMAT closed at $12.47, down 1.34 percent, on Wednesday.