J.P. Morgan Downgrades Applied Materials To Neutral

According to J.P. Morgan, Applied Materials AMAT downgraded to Neutral. J.P. Morgan said that it is downgrading Applied from Overweight to Neutral while cutting the PT to $14 (from $16). “Given outperformance vs. our Alt Energy universe over the past few months, we believe risk/reward is becoming much more evenly balanced. We expect the Co. to report C1Q11 results in line with guidance. While we expect a near-term softening of Semi capex & lower Semi Fab utilization rates to result in lower than previously expected C2Q11 guidance, with softness possibly lingering into C3Q11. We also see heightened risk to Applied's solar segment moving through C11 given our view of deteriorating supply/demand fundamentals for the solar PV industry as a whole. We believe the majority of Applied's solar equipment sales falls into the category of volume purchases which we believe are at risk of declining significantly over the next few quarters if demand for solar PV in Germany and Italy does not rebound significantly.” Applied Materials closed yesterday at $15.69.