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To: Lucretius who wrote (178270)	7/9/2002 7:40:51 AM
From: MythMan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Merrill Lynch issued a bearish note on the semiconductor equipment outlook, cutting its 2003 earnings estimate for the sector due to slower growth forecast from weak PC, consumer and information technology spending. Merrill says it belives the "likelihood of a pause in semiconductor equipment orders in (the) second half of 2002 has significantly increased over the past several weeks," leading it to reduce estimates and rating on 13 stocks in the group. Among the companies for which Merrill trimmed its estimates were Applied Materials (AMAT: Research, Estimates) KLA-Tencor (KLAC: Research, Estimates), Novellus Systems (NVLS: Research, Estimates), with all three stocks downgraded to "buy" from "strong buy." The brokerage also lowered its second-quarter revenue forecast for U.S. semiconductor stocks, forecasting a 5 percent year-over-year fall in aggregate revenue and a 2 percent drop sequentially in third-quarter revenue, citing ongoing valuation concerns. "The absence of a stronger-than-expected recovery and the resulting upward revisions to earnings is what has been pressuring stock prices," Merrill said. money.cnn.com