Applied Materials price target raised to $230 from $175 at Stifel

Stifel analyst Brian Chin raised the firm’s price target on Applied Materials to $230 from $175 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company reported “strong” fiscal Q1 earnings above the firm’s and consensus estimates on sequential strength in DRAM and sustained shipments into China. While guidance calls for a modest quarter-over-quarter revenue decline in Q2, this is better than the firm feared and also above consensus, added the analyst, who believes that Applied’s “unmatched product breadth and steadfast focus on key technology inflections has enabled the company to emerge relatively unscathed from the downturn.”