Justa/All, FWIW:
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Applied Material rated 'buy'
By Barbara C. Costanza and Krishnan
Padmanabhan, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:03 PM ET Aug 26, 1998
Silicon Stocks
Shares of computer chip equipment maker Applied Materials fell 6.2
percent after the company (AMAT) announced it will take an unspecified
charge and cut 2000 employees, or 15 percent of its work force. Applied
said it will report a net loss in the fourth quarter as a result. Analyst John
W. Pitzer of Needhman & Co started coverage of Applied with a "buy"
rating. Pitzer based the rating on expectations of a recovery in the
company over the fourth quarter of 1998 or the first quarter of 1999.ÿ
shares of Applied Materials fell 2 to 29 7/16 Wednesday afternoon.ÿSee
press release.
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It is curious that many stocks are trading at or near mulit-year lows today, only weeks after the SOX was attempting to break though the 270 level. LRCX near a multi-year low, SFAM at a 52 week low, EGLS near its 52 week low, WFR at an All-Time low, and on and on..... The Streets exhuberance for beaten down techs is now giving way to fear the upturn may not come as soon as anticipated, leaving a vacuum of buying power in the sector at this time. At this point, it doesn't look like we'll retest the lows of January, unless a second and third shoe falls.
Keying off what Justa posted regarding the SEMI data, YOY comparisons should look terrific if we can only get through this period and into '99. Once into '99, the Street will probably take the exhuberant view again, but will not stop at SOX 270.
BK |
