Applied Materials price target raised to $172 from $169 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley analyst Shane Brett raised the firm’s price target on Applied Materials (AMAT) to $172 from $169 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. July quarter revenue was slightly ahead of the firm and Street estimates, but the firm notes that China performed “far better than expected.” While the company guided to October quarter revenue that was around $800M below expectations and $500M below the firm’s forecast and described the guide down as “primarily due to uncertainties in China business,” the firm attributes the guidance miss to leading edge logic and DRAM. This earnings report “raises difficult questions about share position at TSMC GAA and the perception of earnings driven by China ICAPS,” the analyst added.