Seems like the WSJ is not a big fan of Tom Kurlak. From today:
Intel Leads Tech Sector Lower After Downgrade by Kurlak
An INTERACTIVE EDITION News Roundup
Intel shares opened sharply lower Friday after Merrill Lynch's
semiconductor analyst, Thomas Kurlak, lowered his intermediate-term rating on Intel to "neutral" from "buy."
Morgan Stanley's high-tech 35 index, which tracks
large-capitalization issues, was down 10.50 to 510.60 in
midmorning trading, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq
Composite Index was down 27 to 1580.30.
Intel fell 4 3/4 to 93 5/8 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Among
other technology issues, Hewlett-Packard dropped 1 3/8 to 62
5/8 and International Business Machines fell 2 1/2 to 103 1/4,
both on the New York Stock Exchange, and Microsoft slipped 2
1/4 to 135 5/8 on Nasdaq.
The rating cut on Intel is Mr. Kurlak's second dramatic move in
as many weeks.
On August 13 Mr. Kurlak slashed his 1998 estimates for Micron
Technology in half, downgrading the stock to
"neutral/accumulate" from "accumulate/buy," warning that
"the easy money has been made" and that falling prices of
dynamic random access memory chips would hurt results.
Micron shares swooned 7 1/2, or 15%, closing at 42 5/8.
Meanwhile, rumors flew at the time that Micron would be the
first in a series of downgrades from the analyst.
Yet earlier in the month Mr. Kurlak reported in two notes to
clients that the ''best of all hoped-for scenarios'' was
developing for semiconductor stocks. He forecast a 20% move
up for the group.
Aside from Intel, Mr. Kurlak also lowered his intermediate-term
rating on Texas Instruments to "neutral" from "accumulate." He
kept his long-term rating on TI at "buy."
TI shares were down 5 1/2 to 119 1/2 on the Big Board.
Many investors pay attention to Mr. Kurlak because of his
reputation for bold semiconductor recommendations. Last
week's call on Micron represented a big change, since Mr.
Kurlak has been one of the Street's biggest semiconductor
bulls. He recommended Intel in September when it was in the
45-range, taking into account its subsequent split. He
recommended Micron at around 17 last July.
But Mr. Kurlak has also been getting a reputation for making
sudden shifts. "I don't pay attention anymore because of the
flip-flops. The volatility of his calls makes his research useless
to me," Stephen Bruno, a portfolio manager at Dalton, Greiner,
Hartman, Maher & Co., said last week in this newspaper's
Heard on the Street column. |
