Applied Materials Target Lowered At J.P. Morgan (AMAT)

J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. is lowering its price target on Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT from $14 to $11, but keeping its Overweight rating after the company reported earnings yesterday after the bell In the research note, J.P. Morgan states, "Applied reported a strong F3Q10 (Jul) with revs/PF EPS of $2.52bn/$0.29 topping our recently raised ests. of $2.43bn/$0.26 (excl. one-timers). The revenue upside was driven by better than expected sales in SSG (silicon) and EES (solar). Adjusted gross margin of 44% was roughly flattish QoQ and ~150bps higher than our model, while opex was largely in-line with expectations and original guidance. With respect to the outlook, Applied guided F4Q10 (Oct) revenue to be flat to up 5% sequentially with non-GAAP EPS in the range of $0.28-$0.32, or ahead of our model on both metrics." Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. closed at $11.38 yesterday.