So let me get this straight...
1) You're the SI guru
2) You're rarely wrong (just ask anyone on SI)
3) You've never visited the VTSS thread before
4) You're here to tell us it's going down
5) You rarely buy puts, but thought this stock merited doing so
6) You're just helping us understand this
Did I miss anything?
Hi/fn Says Fiscal 1st-Qtr Revenue to Decline 29%
Los Gatos, California, Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Hi/fn Inc., a maker of semiconductors for computer-networking and storage equipment, said fiscal first-quarter revenue will decline from the previous quarter because its two biggest customers, Quantum Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc., unexpectedly cut orders.
Hi/fn Chief Executive Raymond Farnham said on a conference call that the company expects revenue of about $10 million in the quarter ending Dec. 31, down from more than $14 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Quantum cut orders because it had too much inventory of its storage devices, while Lucent's business is growing slower than Lucent previously projected, Farnham said.
The news came after Hi/fn's shares tumbled 29 percent today. BancBoston Robertson Stephens analyst Arun Veerappan wrote in notes issued this morning that its rapid growth rate could slow, particularly in sales to networking-gear maker Ascend Communications Inc., which Lucent bought in June.
''They overestimated Quantum's and Ascend's own ability to ship'' products using Hi/fn chips, said Veerappan, who still rates Hi/fn ''buy.'' Veerappan, who said he hadn't previously known about the first-quarter sales shortfall, said he plans to reduce his earnings estimates for the quarter ''considerably.''
Los Gatos, California-based Hi/fn's shares fell 30 3/4 to 74 before trading was halted.
Hi/fn's $12.5 million in revenue in its third quarter ended June 30 was more than double the $5.01 million a year earlier.
Oct/07/1999 19:06
For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here.
(C) Copyright 1999 Bloomberg L.P.
|
