Here is a little comment by Briefing.com :
Lam Research (LRCX) 53 7/16 +7 1/16 : Following the theme highlighted this week at the BancBoston Robertson Stephens Semiconductor Conference,
Lam Research gets a hat-trick of three very important upgrades, all based on the idea that the semiconductor industry is about to rebound. Lam Research
reported earnings after the close last night, smashing estimates of $0.12 a share with solid earnings of $0.28 a share. But even more impressive is the 38%
sequential growth in revenue. Lam Research represents a kind of turnaround in a turnaround industry now. At one point Lam was the largest semiconductor
equipment supplier for single etch chips, selling the chambers in which the chips were made. But in 1996, the company fell behind technically and began losing
money as they invested in CVD and FPD markets. They failed at this, and the stock fell from a high of $72 in Q2 of 97 all the way to a low of $8.50 just one
year ago. New CEO Jim Bagley was brought in in August 1997 and refocused the company on its core business, with expansion into the chemical mechanical
polishing (CMP) business, which Mr. Bagley developed as CEO of OnTrak, a Lam acquisition. This most recent quarter of $210.9 million is still far short of
Lam's highpoints of $377 million in Q2 C96, but in the current industry environment, the sequential growth looks very impressive. Combined with the sentiment
that demand for semiconductors is improving, with the three main drivers being increased PC demand, cell phone demand, and network growth due to the net,
it looks like demand for semiconductor capital equipment will get a strong boost. The three upgrades issued already today are from: Advest, with a Market
Perform to Buy; Warburg Dillion Read, with a Buy to Strong Buy; and, most prestigous of all, Goldman Sachs, with a Market Outperform to its Recommended
List. Since Lam Research is followed by 17 analysts, with three of them rating the stock a Hold, we wouldn't be surprised to see more upgrades coming. If
plays on the semiconductor revival interest you, you should research Lam Research a little more. - RVG |
