Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Should Grow Share at Samsung after Settlement

The announcement by Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) that they have reached a settlement with Samsung should result in Applied gaining share with them going forward.

Needham & Company said, "AMAT announced a settlement with Samsung related to the case involving AMAT's employees allegedly passing Samsung's (N/R) process technologies to Hynix (N/R). We believe this agreement removes a major overhang on AMAT's business with Samsung, the largest customer in the industry. As a result, we believe AMAT will gain share at Samsung in the coming year. Additionally, at Semicon Japan, AMAT announced a new platform for Conductor etch, which appears to be gaining some momentum. With 15 new Silicon products announced over the last 15 month, we view AMAT's renewed focus on the Silicon business as a positive for the story."

Applied Materials was trading at $12.36, down by $0.16, or 1.24 percent as of 11:58 AM EST. Needham has a price target of $14 on them.