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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Donald Wennerstrom who wrote (1927)	2/12/2002 4:51:32 PM
From: Return to Sender	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95962

You're absolutely right Don. The Spin is already going on now with CBS MarketWatch talking about AMAT beating estimates while Reuters concentrates on the difficult environment. Ultimately orders are rising and any great degree of selling here should be considered a buying opportunity. Applied Materials posts loss, expects challenges biz.yahoo.com (UPDATE: adds details, analyst comment, CEO comment, after-hours stock movement, previous SANTA CLARA) NEW YORK, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Applied Materials Inc. (NasdaqNM:AMAT - news) on Tuesday reported a small first-quarter net loss, as the world's largest maker of chip making equipment cut costs to cope with the semiconductor industry's worst downturn on record. In its fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 27, the Santa Clara, California-based company reported a net loss of $45 million, or 6 cents a share, compared to a profit of $157 million, or 19 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding a $77 million charge for costs related to previously announced job cuts and other actions and an $8 million charge related to an acquisition, the company said it earned $15 million, or 2 cents a share, in the quarter. That compared to ongoing earnings of $424 million, or 50 cents a share, in the first quarter last year. New orders in the first quarter were $1.12 billion, down 54 percent from $2.43 billion in the same quarter last year but up slightly from fourth-quarter orders of $1.10 billion. Net sales were $1.0 billion, down 58 percent from $2.36 billion in the year-ago quarter. Wall Street on average expected Applied Materials to report a break-even quarter on a per share basis, with a survey of 28 analysts showing a range of a loss of 3 cents to a profit of 2 cents, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call. ``I think the company did exactly what most people expected them to do,'' said Goldman Sachs semiconductor equipment analyst James Covello. ``They did a good job of cutting costs during the quarter.'' Applied Materials Chairman and Chief Executive James Morgan said the company still faces tough business conditions but could be helped by demand for next-generation chip making tools. ``While we believe that industry conditions remain challenging in the short-term, we are somewhat encouraged by orders for the new technologies,'' he said in a statement. Applied Materials shares fell to $44.25 in after-hours trading from a Tuesday close of $45.68. The stock had already fallen 97 cents, or about 2 percent, in regular trade on Tuesday. I still think we may see AMAT at 40 on the 15 when options expire. EDIT: Uh oh... moving higher now... the call must be going good. RtS