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Technology Stocks : Semiconductor and Semi-Equipment Analysts - Their Calls -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FJB who wrote (43)	6/10/1999 9:20:00 AM
From: orkrious	Respond to of 195

It looks like Rick Whittington is back in the picture. Speculation is that he's going to work for Bank of America. thestreet.com copyright personal use only Demand for Chip Analysts Leads Banc of America to Whittington By Marcy Burstiner Staff Reporter 6/9/99 11:00 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO -- Three months after losing its top chip analyst to Salomon Smith Barney in an increasingly tight market for chip analysts, Banc of America Securities has hired Rick Whittington, a former SoundView analyst known for his maverick calls, according to sources close to the situation. Some analysts wonder how well Whittington, whom SmartMoney magazine called "the man who moves markets" in 1995, would fit into the sedate culture that Banc of America has been cultivating in recent months. Before leaving SoundView to start his own hedge fund in 1996, Whittington was known for making gutsy calls on chip stocks that would frequently send them shooting up or down. Whittington couldn't be reached for comment. Banc of America Securities wouldn't confirm that Whittington has been hired. Several analysts who asked not to be identified say that Banc of America's hiring of someone with Whittington's style after it has pushed away from the hypercompetitive culture the bank developed under Thom Weisel shows just how high demand has grown on the sell side for top chip analysts -- especially analysts covering Intel (INTC:Nasdaq), one of the most widely held tech stocks. Intel analyst Jonathan Joseph, who left Banc of America in March for Salomon and created the vacancy that Whittington is filling, says demand has been "huge, more so than in the past. ... I was approached by many, many firms." Investment banks, hedge funds and venture capital firms have been scouting for chip analysts ever since the market began rebounding last October. Hambrecht & Quist has been looking for an analyst to cover Intel ever since its respected chip analyst, Robert Chaplinsky, left for Mohr Davidow Ventures last July. Volpe Brown & Whelan lost Intel analyst Tim Mahon to Credit Suisse First Boston around the same time. Former Intel ax Thomas Kurlak followed suit in February, leaving Merrill for Tiger Management. Gus Richard, who covered Intel for Hambrecht, left for Emerging Growth Management the same month. And Scott Nirenberski left First Boston for Pequot Capital in March. The latest departure was C.B. Lee from Sutro & Co. last week. Some investment banks find it tough to hang on to analysts after an acquisition. When firms get bought out, employees often move as the culture of the institution changes. Nowhere is this more clear than at Banc of America Securities, which until recently was called NationsBanc Montgomery Securities. After NationsBank merged with Bank of America, Montgomery founder Weisel left to found a new firm with much of his staff in tow. And while Hambrecht has remained independent, rumors of a takeover periodically resurface. Such talk is often enough to send analysts packing, says Fahnestock & Co. chip analyst Dan Scovel. Chip Analysts Who've Jumped Ship -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 1998 Robert Chaplinsky leaves Hambrecht & Quist for Mohr Davidow Ventures -- leaving H&Q without an Intel analyst to this day. July 1998 John Geraghty leaves Credit Suisse First Boston when the firm acquires the technology research team from Deutsche Morgan Grenfell. September 1998 Lehman Brothers steals Jim Barlage from Salomon Smith Barney, leaving Solly without an Intel analyst for seven months. February H&Q's unofficial Intel analyst Gus Richard leaves for Emerging Growth Management. February Thomas Kurlak leaves Merrill Lynch for Tiger Management, leaving Merrill with junior analyst Joe Osha to cover Intel. March Scott Nirenberski leaves CS First Boston for Pequot Capital Management. March Salomon steals Jon Joseph from NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, leaving the firm without an Intel analyst. June C.B. Lee leaves Sutro & Co. Hambrecht is the first to admit it needs an Intel analyst fast. "We have covered Intel for years," says Managing Director Todd Bakar, who covers PC hardware stocks. "We will definitely be covering Intel. You have to cover Intel." He said one of the firm's own analysts will likely pick up coverage soon. In the Bay area, on Intel's back doorstep, the only firms with Intel analysts lately have been BancBoston Robertson Stephens and tiny Collins & Co. And that is surprising, says Collins analyst Brian Eisenbarth, one of only four analysts the firm employs. Some 45 sell-side firms across the country cover Intel. And the stock is regularly among the 10 most active on the Nasdaq. "Intel is the bellwether in the semiconductor market," Eisenbarth says. "They're worth keeping an eye on. Whether their price goes up or down sends repercussions through the whole PC industry." Stepping up the demand for chip analysts is the anticipation that the sector's continued health will spur a spate of long-awaited public offerings in the sector. A respected analyst is often a big draw for investment banks seeking underwriting relationships with start-ups. "A lot of companies waiting to go public will go for it," he says. "And if you don't have an analyst, you won't be participating in that game." Banc of America may not have wanted to wait as long as it did to hire a chip analyst, but it was likely waiting for the right name. It "is trying to be a very big shop; they want someone with recognition," says one analyst who asked not to be named. What he finds most surprising however, is that Whittington would return to the sell side. "We don't make that much," he says.