From Briefing.com: 7:26AM LRCX upgraded after strong MarQ at WR Hambrecht 26.82: WR Hambrecht upgrades Lam Research to Buy from Hold and raises its target to $30 from $26 after the co reported a strong MarQ last night. As demand for etch equipment leads other process tools in a cyclical upturn, bookings of $350 mln were up 30% this quarter and guidance calls for another 10%-15% increase in JunQ. Gross margins improved by 80bp and are estimated to improve by more than a point next quarter, with further improvement to 49% in FY:05. Higher margins and accelerating revenue growth lead the firm to increase its FY:04 and FY:05 EPS estimates to $0.49 and $1.63 (from $0.43 and $1.40).
7:23AM MCHP upgraded at Piper Jaffray 26.86: Piper Jaffray upgrades Microchip Tech to Outperform from Mkt Perform and raises their target to $35 from $31; firm believes that top-line growth will accelerate as the co exits the March qtr due to broad-based strength in most of its end markets, and after essentially flat gross margins over the last two years, they believe the co is reaching an inflection point for a resumption in gross margin expansion; also, firm says checks indicate that lead-times have lengthened and are now approaching 6-8 weeks.
7:07AM EMC Corp beats by $0.01, guides Q2 revs above consensus (EMC) 13.2: Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.07 per share, $0.01 better than the Reuters Research consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 35.2% year/year to $1.87 bln vs the $1.82 bln consensus. Company sees Q2 EPS of $0.08 vs consensus of $0.08 on revenues of $1.950-1.975 bln, consensus $1.91 bln.
6:44AM Artisan Components platform selected by UMC for 90-Nanometer technology (ARTI) 23.31: Co announces that UMC (UMC) has licensed Artisan's Advantage Platform for its 90-nanometer (nm) process technology. The agreement provides system on chip (SoC) designers with proven 90nm design platform targeted for UMC's latest process generation.
6:29AM Fairchild Semi beats by $0.02, ex items (FCS) 25.36: Reports Q1 (Mar) pro forma earnings of $0.17 per share, $0.02 better than the Reuters Research consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 12.6% year/year to $397.8 mln vs the $384.9 mln consensus.
6:10AM European Summary: UK +0.27%, France +0.29%, Germany +0.08% : European stocks trading flattish with consumer-electronics companies such as Royal Philips Electronics NV and Nokia gaining after Apple Computer and Texas Instruments posted quarterly earnings that beat estimates. Sage Plc, the U.K.'s biggest maker of accounting software, climbed close to 4% after saying fiscal first-half pretax profit increased some 17% from a year earlier. Computer accessory maker Logitech (LOGI) announced a share buy-back of up 250 mln Swiss francs ($197 mln) as it posted record annual earnings, and reiterated upbeat results forecasts. Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz delivered March sales growth of 7%, well short of expectations, blaming cold weather which hit demand for its spring collection. A consortium led by European aerospace firm EADS is set to win a contract worth up to 4 bln euros ($4.9 bln) from NATO for surveillance aircraft, the Financial Times reported... The dollar steadied near a one-month high versus the yen and held recent gains against other major currencies on Thursday as a run of upbeat U.S. data bolstered expectations of higher U.S. interest rates, Reuters reporting.
finance.yahoo.com
Thanks for that clarification.
RtS |
