From Briefing.com: 8:48AM Silicon Labs upgraded at Needham (SLAB) 32.24: Needham upgrades to Buy from Hold following stronger than expected results; with a large number of design wins ramping up, both its Wireless and Wireline units should be well-positioned for robust growth, and the co is expected to introduce many new products over the next 18 months. Target is $36.50.
8:45AM Helix Tech upgraded at Needham (HELX) 13.97: Needham upgrades to Buy from Hold following last night's earnings miss; firm says several Q2 trends are moving in the right direction as the concentration in the semi industry increased sequentially in Q2, global support increased to 37% from 33% as the co is having success with its TrueBlue branded service program, and the co's survey of its customers indicates an increased level of buying in 2H03. Target is $18.
8:43AM America West beats by $0.59, ex items (AWA) 9.18: Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.33 per share, excludes an $81.3 mln reimbursement payment for 9/11 security fees and $14.5 million of special charges, $0.59 better than the Reuters Research consensus of ($0.26); revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $575.8 mln vs the $549.8 mln consensus.
8:34AM Retek reports, guides in line (RETK) 7.06: Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.03 per share, in line with the Reuters Research consensus of ($0.03); revenues rose 14.1% year/year to $42.9 mln vs the $39.3 mln consensus. Company sees Q3 loss of $0.02 to breakeven vs R.R. consensus of a loss of $0.01 on revenues of $41-43 mln, consensus $41.5 mln.
8:11AM Lehman upgrades wireless IC stocks : Lehman upgrades all of the wireless IC stocks under coverage, citing: 1) a strong unit story for 2H03, 2) declining inventory levels and increasing demand in Asia following SARS, 3) introduction of new handset models in 2H03, 3) reasonable valuations, 4) relative underperformance of the group versus the SOX, and 5) achievable earnings forecasts. Upgrades TXN to Overweight from Underweight, RFMD and SWKS to Overweight from Equal-Weight, and ANAD and TQNT to Equal-Weight from Underweight.
8:07AM UPS beats by $0.02, guides Q3 in line with consensus (UPS) 64.79: Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.61 per share, $0.02 better than the Reuters Research consensus of $0.59; revenues rose 7.1% year/year to $8.23 bln vs the $8.14 bln consensus. Co also sees Q3 EPS of $0.58-0.62, vs R.R. consensus of $0.60, and "remains on track to achieve its targeted earnings growth of 10-to-15% for the full year."
8:06AM Lehman raises sector weighting of semi capital equip group : Lehman raises their sector weighting on the Semi Capital Equipment industry to Positive from Neutral to reflect their view that the longest and deepest semi equipment downturn in history is gradually ending, and the secular prospects for the industry and for individual co's are substantially better than is generally believed. Upgrades AMAT, LRCX, and NVLS to Overweight from Equal-Weight; downgrades DPMI to Equal-Weight from Overweight and cuts target to $19 from $23 (restructuring may take longer than expected); reiterates Overweight and raises target on KLAC to $62 from $45; and initiates coverage of FORM with an Overweight rating and $24 target.
8:05AM Infineon beats by $0.12, ex items (IFX) 12.60: Reports Q3 (Jun) loss of $0.18 per share, excluding items, $0.12 better than the Reuters Research consensus of ($0.30); revenues rose 11.4% year/year to $1.65 bln vs the $1.53 bln consensus.
8:03AM Texas Instruments Earnings Summary : CIBC is maintaining its Neutral on stock following co's report of a penny upside EPS. Firm has concerns over clarity of wireless business: inventory issues in China and increasing competition from chipset suppliers; handset ASPs remain under pressure; Europe remains stagnant. While CIBC likes story long-term, believes more clarity is necessary to justify multiple expansion. UBS is cutting its 2003 est to $0.32 from $0.36 following mgmt's reduced guidance for Q3. Price target goes to $19 from $21... Goldman Sachs says guidance causes firm to continue to wait.
7:39AM AOL Time Warner target raised to $21 at Deutsche (AOL) 16.35: Deutsche Securities reaffirms their Buy rating and raises their target to $21 from $19; firm says the following near-term factors should lead to increased credibility for mgmt and a narrowing of AOL's valuation discount to the group: co should reaffirm or raise guidance when they report Q2 results tomorrow, debt paydown should accelerate through announced transactions and free cash flow, and investors should gain confidence in healthy 2004 growth for the co.
7:37AM Millennium Pharm beats, reduces guidance (MLNM) 13.70: Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.07 per share, $0.10 better than the Reuters Research consensus of ($0.17); revenues rose 32.4% year/year to $121.7 mln vs the $107.5 mln consensus. Company now sees Y03 revenues of revenues of $410-420 mln, down from previous guidance of $450-475 mln, although consensus is $419.5 mln. MLNM now sees Y03 pro forma net loss of $310-320 mln, down from previous guidance of a pro forma net loss of $290-320 mln.
7:36AM MLNM guiding full yr revenues lower :
7:28AM Lexmark upgraded at Soundview (LXK) 59.40: Soundview upgrades to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation as well as their view that Q3 guidance was overly conservative and that rev upside exists; also, firm continues to believe that DELL is an incremental positive for LXK, and reiterates that DELL does not drive the pricing environment for hardware and consumables; cuts target to $75 from $78.
7:52AM Goldman Sachs positive on Bells : Goldman Sachs says they would be buying SBC, VZ, and BLS ahead of the qtr, which should contain few surprises and further confirmation that conditions aren't worsening and progress is being made, despite a very tough operating environment; in addition, the current weakness is exacerbated by recent bond mkt weakness (as high dividend paying stocks), the mkt seems to be discounting information inconsistently, and the Bells are again trading below electrics, which have traditionally represented floor valuations.
7:01AM Early Research Calls : Deutsche Bank upgrading MNST to Buy from Hold with tgt going to $24 from $16; also raising tgt on AOL to $21 from $19... Lehman downgrading DCOM to Equal Weight from Overweight... CSFB upgrading CSX to Outperform from Neutral; also initiating coverage on PRU with Outperform rating and $40 tgt... UBS upgrading DE to Buy from Neutral... Thomas Weisel upgrading CNET to Outperform from Peer Perform, raising price tgt to $10 from $7... RBC Capital Mkts upgrading PDLI to Sector Perform from Underperform... Smith Barney reiterating Outperform and $23 tgt on HPQ... Soundview upgrading WEBM to Neutral from Underperform but maintaining $7.50 tgt; also upgrading LXK to Outperform form Neutral saying business model still strong.
6:32AM European Summary : European indexes showing moderate losses after a stronger open. Telecoms leading the decline after Credit Suisse First Boston strategists cut the European telecoms sector to "market weight" from "overweight," citing the absence of driver for further outperformance after months of rally. German chipmaker Infineon (IFX) gave up earlier gains to slip four percent, despite posting better-than-expected earnings and guidance, amid resurging rumours of new share placements. British chip designer ARM Holdings (AMRHY) was another loser after posting a 60 percent fall in second quarter profits... France -0.54%, Germany -0.72%, UK +0.03%.
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