SEMI numbers suggest better trends
Trends in the chip equipment space are improving, according to the latest industry numbers. But stocks in the group did not gain any mileage on the news.
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), in fact, reported late Monday that North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $839 million in orders in March, up 14 percent from revised February levels, while the book-to-bill ratio totaled 1.04, which means that $104 worth of new orders were received for every $100 of product billed.
"The overall ratio of bookings to billings rose above unity for the first time in sixteen months, signaling prospects for an improving industry revenue picture in the months ahead," commented Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. See the related story.
Checking the pulse of the equipment makers, leader Applied Materials lost 0.8 percent, KLA-Tencor fumbled 1.7 percent, Novellus Systems sagged 1.3 percent while Teradyne added 1.2 percent.
Some good news also came from Europe's two largest chipmakers. Germany's Infineon Technologies (IFX: news, chart) posted a smaller-than-expected loss in its March quarter while STMicroelectronics (STM: news, chart) revealed expectations for an improvement in profit margins and above-forecasts revenue growth in the current quarter. See full story. Infineon shares erased 1.3 percent while STMicro climbed 2.7 percent.
Meanwhile, Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC: news, chart) tumbled 17.4 percent after warning that second-quarter revenues would be flat sequentially, shy of analysts' current projections. See full story.
Altera (ALTR: news, chart) also lost ground, recently changing hands down 3 percent even after its first-quarter targets topped Wall Street's expectations late Monday. Second-quarter revenue is seen growing 4 to 6 percent sequentially, which would place sales between $178.9 million and $182.3 million. That compares to the $178.8 million currently expected by Wall Street analysts. See full story. Xilinx shed 2 percent.
Julie Rannazzisi is markets editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com in New York.
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