J.P. Morgan Maintains Neutral on Applied Materials

J.P. Morgan is out with its report today on Applied Materials AMAT, maintaining Neutral. In its report, J.P. Morgan writes, "Our Neutral rating on AMAT is based on the view that the company is trading similarly to prior trough P/TBV. The C2H11 and beyond horizon the semi equipment outlook is uncertain with sufficient logical reasons why semi capex could be either up or down from existing levels. We do expect the company to experience a decline in its EES business group which isn't likely to be offset by Flat Panel-related sales. As a result we believe AMAT is likely to trade relatively sideways for the foreseeable future, or at least until the outlook for the semi equipment business becomes more apparent." J.P. Morgan maintains an $11 PT on AMAT. At the time of posting, shares of AMAT were trading pre-market at $10.80, down 4.93% from Wednesday's close.