18:01 ET Semiconductor Equipment Book-to Bill at 0.87
The North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $712 million in orders in February 2002 and a book-to-bill of 0.87. The bookings figure is 10% above the revised January 2002 level of $645 million and 56% below the $1.61 billion in orders posted in February 2001; the revised book-to-bill for January was 0.81 -- this means February's 0.87 ratio marks the fifth consecutive month without a sequential decrease in the book-to-bill ratio.
5:25PM TriQuint Semi (TQNT) 11.88 +0.04: -- Update -- On call, company says its wireless phone business is gaining market share....inventory levels in the cell phone channel "has been pretty much sucked out, but optical market still has to work through inventory...stock at 11.55.
5:21PM TriQuint Semi (TQNT) 11.88 +0.04: -- Update -- On call, company provides color on business segments....says the book-to-bill on its wireless phone business is over one for the first time since 2000....Optical network remains soft: "return of sales not on near horizon"......satellite business should recover in late 2002 or early 2003....stock at 11.50.
5:19PM TriQuint Semi (TQNT) 11.88 +0.04: -- Update -- On mid-qtr call, company guides down slightly for Q1. Guidance for sales and EPS now at $60-$62 mln and a loss of ($0.02)-($0.01) vs Feb 7 guidance of $60-$65 mln and ($0.02)-$0.00. Multex consensus is for $(0.01) and $62.8 mln. As for Q2, company expects it to be about the same as Q1. Multex consensus for Q2 is $66.3 mln and $0.00...stock at 11.50.
TriQuint Semi (TQNT 11.69 -0.19) guided Q1 estimates slightly lower during its mid-qtr update. TQNT expects sales to be $60-$62 mln and anticipates a loss of $0.01-0.02 per share versus its Feb 7 guidance of $60-$65 mln and $0.00-($0.02). Multex consensus is $(0.01) and $62.8 mln; related stocks include AMCC, RFMD, VTSS, CNXT and MOT. For more detail on these, and other developments, be sure to visit Briefing.com's In Play, Earnings Calendar, and Guidance pages. Presently, the S&P futures, at 1175, are 3 points above fair value while the Nasdaq 100 futures, at 1512, are 1 point above fair value.-- Patrick J. O'Hare, Briefing.com
Jabil Circuit (JBL 21.84 +1.08), meanwhile, reported Q2 (Feb) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.01 better than the Multex consensus. JBL forecasted Q3 earnings to be in the range of $0.11-$0.13 per share; the current consensus EPS estimate is $0.11; related stocks include FLEX, CLS, SCI, and SLR...
4:48PM Jabil Circuit tops estimates; updates guidance (JBL) 20.76 -0.34: Reports Q2 (Feb) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.01 better than the Multex consensus of $0.07; revenues fell 31.5% year/year to $822.0 mln vs the $810.8 mln consensus; sees Q3 revenues in the range of $825-$855 mln versus the current consensus estimate of $878.8 mln; sees Q3 earnings in the range of $0.11-$0.13 per share versus the current consensus estimate of $0.11 per share.
Close Dow +57.50 at 10635.25, S&P +4.74 at 1170.28, Nasdaq +3.81 at 1880.87: The key news item in the market today was the Fed's decision not to change interest rates, but it did shift from an easing bias to a neutral directive, which had been expected. The market impact was relatively muted. This is the first step toward an eventual increase in interest rates, but the market still doesn't expect a rate hike until May. In the statement, there was a hint that rate hikes are likely to come....
After the announcement, Goldman Sachs upped its real GDP estimate and the firm now expects the Fed to increase the Fed Funds rate by 75 basis points in three increments, starting at the June 25-26 meeting, rather than their previous forecast of no change....The other big story today was the Hewlett (HWP 18.80 -0.45) vote on the HWP/CPQ deal. HWP's CEO says they have enough votes to pass the merger, but it's not official....Elsewhere, Procter & Gamble (PG 89.94 +2.28) helped lift the Dow and the overall market when the consumer product giant upped guidance. A strong earnings report from Goldman Sachs (GS 91.05 +1.85) helped drive the financials. Dollar General (DG 16.99 +1.62) helped propel the retailers, especially the discounters: FDO +5%, NDN +3%....
However, Gemstar-TV Guide (GMST 16.04 -5.69) was under pressure after a weak report....Overall, cyclicals were the market leaders today as the Fed's shift is further evidence of an economic turnaround. Consumer-oriented stocks also did well thanks to PG and others. Techs were mixed while airlines were weak....Looking ahead, it's a quiet session after the bell on the earnings front, but TriQuint Semi (TQNT 11.88 +0.04) will have an update.DJTA -0.6%, DJUA +0.2%, DOT +0.2%, Nasdaq 100 -0.1%, Russell 2000 +0.4%, SOX +0.7%, S&P Midcap 400 +0.2%, XOI +0.7%, NYSE Adv/Dec 1713/1427, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1818/1714
3:31PM Goldman Sachs sees 5% GDP growth in Q1, rate hikes beginning in June : Goldman Sachs makes two major changes to their outlook for US growth and interest rates: 1) firm now estimates that real GDP is rising at a 5% annual rate in Q1, rather than the previous forecast of 2.5%; and 2) firm now expects the Fed to increase the Fed Funds rate by 75 basis points in three increments, starting at the June 25-26 meeting, rather than their previous forecast of no change.
Micron Tech (MU) 33.80 +0.55: Merrill Lynch's Joe Osha reaffirmed his expectations for a Q2 loss of $0.04 per share and Q2 revenue to be $733 mln, citing a strong ASP recovery and 5% sequential bit shipment growth during the Feb quarter.
2:38PM Applied Materials (AMAT) 52.68 +0.86: Shares continue their slow climb off Oct lows of $27; stock broke $50 level last Wednesday and appears poised for more upward movement going into the co.'s analyst meeting on Thurs. Thomas Weisel expects the meeting to be upbeat; anticipates that AMAT's order book is tracking ahead of its forecast of 10-15% seq. order growth, and that this growth may be sufficient to warrant an upward revision to the co.'s forecast. CIBC names AMAT their top pick during the SEMInvest conference this morning. Prudential adds that AMAT April qtr orders of about $1.29 bln (gross orders) translates to about $430 mln/month, up from $370 mln in Jan.
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