Interview with Tom Kurlak, semiconductor analyst at Merril Lynch.........
I don't view CUBE as typical semiconductor stock, particularly with its Divicom business and its higher selling price and margin encoder business.
techweb.cmp.com
Excerpt from article:
Almost nothing these days is more important to a semiconductor company
than keeping its stock price moving higher. A host of benefits -- from
making affordable acquisitions to keeping key employees happy with stock
options -- can come from a rising stock price. But whether any
semiconductor stock goes up or down often depends a lot on what a small
band of financial analysts is telling investors.
Certainly the most visible now of this elite group of semiconductor
industry specialists is Thomas Kurlak, first vice president at Merrill
Lynch & Co. in New York. The veteran chip industry analyst has never
been shy about calling market and company turns, but in recent weeks he
has actually become notorious. It all stems from his Aug. 13 note to
clients slashing in half his 1998 estimates for Micron Technology Inc.
What bugged some investors was that little more than a week prior to his
gloomy note, Kurlak had issued a 20% move up for semiconductor stocks.
The Merrill Lynch analyst is developing something of a reputation on
Wall Street for breathtaking flip-flops, according to The Wall Street
Journal. Even rumors about a change in recommendation from Kurlak can
send a stock down, it said.
While some investors are getting fed up with his sudden shifts, many
investors pay attention to Kurlak because of his reputation for bold
semiconductor recommendations. Rob Lineback, editor-in-chief of
Semiconductor Business News, talked to the veteran semiconductor analyst
in mid-September to find out more about his views on the industry and
what's new in evaluating chip stocks.
>>snip<<
SBN -- With regard to Wall Street, is it easier or more difficult for semiconductor suppliers to distinguish themselves from other chip
companies?
Kurlak -- I think it is easier for them to differentiate themselves
today because there are a lot more niches within the semiconductor
industry. Companies no longer need to own a factory. People are able to
tap foundries in Taiwan, so it is easier to start up a company. You
don't have [to come up with] the money to build a fab. All you need is a
good design. |
