To ALL:
Cheers! This from Reuters:
Sandisk rises on royalty outlook
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug 25 (Reuter) - Sandisk Corp shares jumped as much as 20 percent Monday amid investor optimism that the chipmaker's recent legal settlement with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (64050.KS) will mean a surge in royalties.
Sandisk makes flash memory chips, a specialized type of computer chip for consumer electronics that stores information such as sound, video. Earlier this month, Samsung settled a patent infringement fight with Sandisk and agreed to pay royalties for using Sandisk's design.
``I think the settlement is an indication that going forward Sandisk will be extracting royalty revenue from every semiconductor manufacturer,'' said Mark Edelstone, analyst at Morgan Stanley & Co in San Francisco.
Sandisk shares were up 4-3/8 at 29-3/8 in late morning Nasdaq trading. Earlier the shares traded as high as 30, a 52-week high.
Analysts said a confluence of recent good news -- the Samsung settlement, stock rating upgrades at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, and a mention on CNBC -- was the catalyst for today's rise.
Edelstone said Sandisk also likely will benefit from increasing sales of digital cameras this Christmas. Many digital cameras use Sandisk chips to store pictures in digital format.
``Sandisk is going to be a big winner over multiple years,'' said Bennett Notman, analyst at H.C. Wainwright & Co in New York. ``Sandisk has the emerging standard.''
Sandisk officials could not be reached immediately for comment.
Jim |
