Mentor Graphics Down -2: Shares Hit 52-Week Low >MENT
By Maxwell Murphy
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Mentor Graphics Corp. (MENT) shares hit a 52-week low
for a second consecutive session Wednesday after Merrill Lynch & Co. issued
a cautious note on the technical and design software sector.
In his research note, "Discretion is the Better Part of Valor," analyst Jay
Vleeschhouwer said Merrill is concerned about part of Mentor's business in
light of Synplicity Inc.'s (SYNP) late Tuesday warning that 2001 revenue
gains would be below earlier expectations.
About one-fifth of Mentor's revenue is generated from the sale of design
tools for field programmable gate array, or FPGA, chips. That part of the
business is called into question by Synplicity's warning.
Vleeschhouwer also downgraded shares of Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDN)
and Synopsys Inc. (SNPS), citing Synplicity's and other recent
preannouncements from some semiconductor and related companies. Cadence,
Synopsys, Synplicity and Mentor Graphics all make software that aid in the
development of semiconductors and circuits.
Mentor Graphics stock recently changed hands at $16.24, down $2.31, or
12.5%, on volume of 3.1 million shares. Average daily volume is 1.2 million.
The shares traded as low as $15.71 earlier Wednesday. The previous 52-week
low of $16.65 was set Tuesday. A year-high of $33.63 was set Jan. 23.
Synplicity shares were down 17.6%, to $11.53. Meanwhile, Cadence was off
4.1%, to $18.85, and Synopsys was down 9.4%, to $46.04.
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 06-27-01
12:07 PM
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