Citi Previews Applied Materials Earnings (AMAT)

Citi Investment Research is out with a research report on Applied Materials Inc AMAT, as it previews the company's earnings. It has a Hold rating and a $14 price target on shares. In a note sent to investors, Citi writes, "Silicon share remains mixed as inspection is the only clear gainer and given results themselves which are likely to be mixed at best, it is hard to get too excited about the stock even acknowledging how much it has lagged (down 10% YTD vs flat (KLAC) to +30% (NVLS) for peers). AMAT could launch its LED product (MOCVD) given its YE2010 commitment, but to our knowledge there are still no volume adopters. Maintain Hold (2M), $14 tgt." Shares of AMAT gained 1 cent yesterday to close at $12.60.