From Briefing.com: 4:54PM Novellus (NVLS) 29.55 -0.24: -- Update -- On its conference call, company says orders were $241.4 mln, up 64% sequentially... Bookings were $276 mln, as forecasted... "Overall a good quarter, but more room to go"... general trend over last few weeks has been slowing due to customer's liquidity concerns. Lower equity prices make capital more difficult to raise... Copper keeps being invested in... The last "few weeks" comment has sent the stock down a bit more... stock now at 27.81.
4:49PM Computer Assoc beats by two cents; updates guidance (CA) 10.21 -0.04: Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.02 per share, $0.02 better than the Multex consensus of $0.00; revenues rose 7.4% year/year to $765.0 mln vs the $771.6 mln consensus; company expects annual fiscal year 2003 revenue to be "in the range of $3.10 to $3.20 billion compared to our original outlook of $3.20 to $3.26 billion."
4:35PM Texas Instruments meets consensus; provides in line guidance (TXN) 23.39 -1.46: Reports Q2 pro forma EPS of $0.06 a share, in line with consensus. Revs rose 6.1% to $2.162 bln (consensus $2.01 bln). Projects Q3 pro forma net of $0.10 (consensus $0.10) on 5% sequential rev growth.
4:35PM Altera reports in line Q2 (ALTR) 12.38 -0.05: Reports Q2 pro forma EPS of $0.06, in line with the Multex consensus; revs were $178.9 mln, vs consensus of $181.1 mln.
4:35PM Microtune misses estimates (TUNE) 6.10 -0.18: Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.14 per share, $0.03 worse than the Multex consensus of ($0.11); reports Q2 revs of $23.2 mln vs the consensus estimate of $22.8 mln.
4:23PM Cirrus Logic matches estimates (CRUS) 7.26 -0.50: Reports Q1 (Jun) loss of $0.09 per share, in line with the Multex consensus of ($0.09); Q1 revs came in at $76.0 million vs the consensus estimate of $75.1 million; for Q2, pro forma loss per share is expected to be $0.06-$0.10 vs the consensus estimate for a net loss of $0.08 per share; Q2 revs expected to be "comparable to Q1" vs the consensus of $75.5 million.
4:15PM ON Semiconductor beats by 3 cents (ONNN) 2.67 +0.45: Reports Q2 pro forma loss of $0.14, $0.03 better than the Multex consensus; revs were $277.5 mln, in line with consensus. Expects Q3 revs to be flat to slightly up sequentially, vs consensus of $288.0 mln.
4:15PM TriQuint Semi exceeds guidance; issues favorable Q3 outlook (TQNT) 6.22 -0.28: Posts breakeven Q3 net, $0.02 better than the Multex consensus. Revs declined 1.8% sequentially to $61.23 mln (consensus $60.53 mln). For Q3, co sees earnings of $0.00 to ($0.02) on revs of $69-$74 mln (consensus -$0.02 and $66.16 mln).
4:13PM Silicon Labs beats by two cents, guides higher (SLAB) 25.97 -1.85: Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.02 better than the Multex consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 155.9% year/year to $41.2 mln vs the $37.5 mln consensus. Company sees 10-15% sequential growth in Q3 revenues, or $45.3-47.4 mln vs the Multex consensus of $40.7 mln.
4:11PM Novellus reports in line Q2 (NVLS) 29.55 -0.24: -- Update -- Reports Q2 pro forma EPS of $0.08, in line with the Multex consensus; revs were $222.1 mln, vs consensus of $221.1 mln.
4:09PM INRANGE tops consensus; reaffirms outlook for Q3 and Q4 (INRG) 3.79 -0.16: Posts a Q2 pro forma loss of $0.01 a share, $0.02 better than the Multex consensus. Revs declined 24% to $52.8 mln. Based on current conditions, co is comfortable with consensus estimates for Q3 and Q4.
4:07PM KEMET beats by two cents (KEM) 14.20 -0.90: Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.04 per share, $0.02 better than the Multex consensus of $0.02; Q1 revs were $124.0 million vs the consensus estimate of $122.6 million.
2:45PM Plexus Corp downgraded at CSFB (PLXS) 13.75 +0.13: CSFB downgrades to HOLD from Buy, saying that despite the stock's recent slide, PLXS trades inline with peers such as BHE that are raising guidance in the same environment; given upcoming seasonality and current weak visibility, firm believes the stock is fairly valued. Price target is $14.
1:00PM Microtune announces 5.3 mln share buyback (TUNE) 6.10 +0.15: Announces that its Board of Directors has authorized the co to repurchase up to 5,325,000 shares of its common stock (shares outstanding 53.3 mln).
12:10PM Sun Microsystems may still have downside risk-- Merrill Lynch (SUNW) 4.11 -0.14: Merrill Lynch concludes that after comparing SUNW's current valuation to previous lows, when the co was going through a similarly difficult transition, the stock is not yet at levels that suggest no downside risk; for example, stock trades at 33x FY03 earnings est and 1.2x the S&P 500 multiple (compared with 7x in 1994 and 0.50-0.60x in the early-1990s), today's price-to-sales is 1.06 (vs the 1994 trough level of 0.43), and the price-to-book is 1.4x (vs 1.19 in 1994).
11:48AM Microsoft retreats to Sept 21 one-yr low of $47.50 (MSFT) 47.51 -2.05:
11:30AM Cisco Systems comes under pressure (CSCO) 13.00 -0.65: -- Technical -- Stock testing the 13.00 level on a notable spike in volume. From current levels, look for initial support at 12.85 followed by additional support points at 12.50 and 12.30. The intraday tone would improve if the shares could reclaim ground above very near-term resistance at 13.30.
3:43PM Buying Opportunity : Brutal bear markets like the one we're living through now tend to demoralize investors... At some point, and Briefing.com contends that we are quickly approaching that moment, investors just stop caring about the market and look elsewhere to invest... This apathy tends to correspond with market bottoms, as it is a sign that the sellers are finally washed out... But avoiding stocks after they've come down sharply is a big mistake... Though it is difficult to consider buying into a market as ugly as this one, the potential long-term rewards demand it... And with the sour market tone taking all stocks - bad and good - down for the count, investors finally have an opportunity to own strong, quality companies at fair, reasonable prices... Remember, it's not what you owned going into a bear market that matters most, it's what you own coming out... The broad sell-off over the past couple of weeks is affording investors the chance to buy good companies at their lowest prices in years... Bypassing this buying opportunity because of the past is a huge mistake... Don't get us wrong - we're not advocating throwing all of your investible assets into the market today... That would be foolish, especially since the market has yet to show signs that it has found a bottom... However, instead of sticking your head in the sand and hoping the ugly market will just go away, now is the time to be doing your research and coming up with names you want to own for the next couple of months/years... Briefing.com is doing just that ourselves, and we will be making some wholesale changes to the Core portfolios by week's end... Housing, banking, lodging, retail, restaurants, steel, aerospace/defense and drugs/biotech are just some of the areas we are looking at to play the recovery... Watch our Story Stock and Stock Brief pages over the next several days for more specifics. -- Robert Walberg, Briefing.com
12:19PM BellSouth (BLS) 22.73 -4.88: BellSouth is getting hit hard today as it missed estimates and guided lower. Q2 EPS came in at $0.53, $0.04 below the Multex consensus. For 2002, BLS sees normalized EPS of $2.13-$2.20 (consensus $2.34). First, the good news. BellSouth said its Cingular Wireless joint venture added more new subscribers than expected in Q2, helped by lower customer turnover and the introduction of new price plans earlier in the year. The No. 2 wireless carrier behind Verizon Wireless said it added 353,000 net new customers, compared with analysts' expectations of about 300,000. While it was a sizable increase from the 234,000 subscribers it added in Q1, it was well below last year's 701,000. But that's not why investors are sending the stock to its lowest level since September 1997. Investors are focusing on the bad results from its wireline and Latin America businesses. Also having a big effect is Merrill Lynch downgrading the stock to long-term Neutral from Buy on the view that company's quarterly results point to a weaker outlook into the longer term. Since the firm believes the slowdown at BLS has implications for other RBOCs longer term, Merrill also downgrades Verizon (00 28.63 -3.87) and SBC Comms (SBC 23.41 -3.27)... The group has been trending lower over the last few months, on poor results and the messes created by Qwest and WorldCom. Is it time to bottom fish? That's debatable, but WCOME has been one of the most dominant competitors for the Baby Bells. They stand to benefit from WCOME's woes as consumers seek the security of a Baby Bell as their service provider rather than the bankrupt Worldcom. There are some positive attributes for these beaten up names. They continue to throw off strong cash flow, are profitable and are trading at low p/e multiples. BLS trades at a p/e of 10.5x, while VZ and SBC trade at 9.2x and 10.0x, respectively. Also, the price declines have boosted the dividend yields: 5.3% for VZ, 4.6% for SBC, and 3.5% for BLS. These are quite attractive compared to Treasury 10-year yields of just 4.5%. These dividends should remain intact given the substantial and stable cash flows generated by the local phone business. But there are no guarantees. Bottom line, there is likely more downside in the near term, but if the group continues to fall, they are worth keeping an eye on. -- Robert J. Reid, Briefing.com
2:58PM Flextronics (FLEX) 7.81 -0.11: Following co's warning (lowered June qtr EPS to $0.05-0.08 vs. consensus ests of $0.11) on lack of a broad-based upturn, shares have dropped off about 30% since early June; Lehman Brothers defends stock on their belief FLEX's business is "holding up" and expects co to finish the June qtr in line with revised guidance, also anticipates FLEX to meet expectations going into the remainder of 2002. Firm cuts their price target to $15 from $19 but notes their still high PE multiple suggests healthy earnings growth in CY03 from new wins, organic growth and the benefits of restructuring.
2:33PM Microsoft (MSFT) 47.43 -2.13: Many wonder why MSFT is diluting returns from its software business by keeping $9.44 per share in cash. While CSFB does not have any special insight into future strategic investments, firm believes co. can deploy some of its excess cash to create a financing arm, which would be part of broader strategy to compete head on with IBM. While some may view software financing as problematic because there are no physical assets to value over time, firm thinks MSFT's knowledge of its own product cycles and pricing might make it possible to value software; believes investors should consider financing as potential use of co's assets.
1:37PM Prudential on Semis : Despite the overall subdued mood at Semicon West tradeshow due to continuously slowing business, Prudential maintains Outperform rating on sector after meeting with Amkor (AMKR 5.44 +0.01) and Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC 8.71 -0.36). While firm thinks AMKR is likely to report in-line results for Q202 (earnings due on 7/30), believes current guidance of double digit sequential revs growth for Q302 could be unlikely. For KLIC, who already reported disappointing June qrt results and warned for September, firm believes key issue is its higher cost structure vs. its primary competition for wire bonders.
12:39PM Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) 12.01 -0.79: With shares eyeing new 52-week lows, in a pre-open note Soundview Technology (who suggested purchase of shares last week) lowers Q302 EPS est to $0.14 from $0.20 and Y02 EPS est to $0.78 from $0.83 due to weak PC demand and sell-in as co. clears its N. American retail channel; field sources indicate expense cuts generally tracking, though difficult economy is moving expense saving out modestly. Despite ests cuts, firm continues to believe HPQ presents a good value, admires co's ability to make operating profits in tough environment; thinks risk to HPQ of DELL entering the printer market is small due to slow organic growth and DELL's distribution issues.
12:01PM CE Unterberg Towbin Reits : In morning note, CE Unterberg Towbin reiterated on Lam Research (LRCX 15.16 -0.81) and Novellus (NVLS 28.42 -1.37) with short-term Buy/long-term Buy ratings and price targets of $38 and $72, respectively. LRCX to report Q4 tomorrow, and firm looking for $0.08 loss on revs of $172 mln; believes results will focus on charge expected to reach $20-25 mln; thinks shares may come under some pressure as result of this issue... Firm notes that NVLS' guidance in May remained positive; co. is far better positioned for some continuing order growth in Q3 and Q4; stock has fallen 36% since mid-quarter update in late May; despite weakness in group, firm says NVLS continues to look attractive.
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