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

To: StanX Long who wrote (10736)	7/30/2003 11:46:05 AM
From: Return to Sender	Respond to of 95456

From Briefing.com: 10:47AM SanDisk edges above 52-wk high and sits (SNDK) 58.02 +1.27: Stock has just moved above its July 29 one-yr high of $57.80, but has been able to build much ground above this area. 10:18AM Newport upgraded to Mkt Perform at Adams Harkness (NEWP) 17.20 +0.38: Adams Harkness upgrades to Mkt Perform from Reduce, saying the co's diversification efforts are paying off and the co has likely seen the bottom, even if semi and fiber-optic remain challenging. 10:08AM 50 Day Watch -- Dupont Photomask (DPMI) 20.83 -0.28: -- Technical -- Stock has faltered after failing to hold above its 200 day average yesterday with a new session/weekly low recently set. Support at its 50 day simple/exp averages at 20.85/20.80 now being tested. 8:55AM Cypress and Xilinx announce collaborative co-development of next gen comm and memory products (CY) 13.07: Cypress and Xilinx announced collaborative co-development for next generation communications and memory products. The first product to be developed from this relationship is a reference design for a complete "fiber-to-fiber" data over SONET/SDH solution. 8:40AM Vishay reports in line, ex items (VSH) 14.68: Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.07 per share, excluding a $0.05 restructuring charge, in line with the Reuters Research consensus of $0.07; revenues rose 17.5% year/year to $538.1 mln vs the $537.7 mln consensus. 8:20AM M-Systems chosen by IOM for its Mini USB 2.0 prodcut line (FLSH) 14.98: The Co announced Iomega has selected its SmartDiskOnKey platform to serve as the basis for its Mini USB 2.0 product line. This expands upon its preexisting relationship with with the co in their Mini USB 1.1 product line. 7:55AM Brooks Automation cut to Sell at AG Edwards (BRKS) 20.81: AG Edwards downgrades to Sell from Hold based on their belief that mgmt has not done enough to make the business model sustainable, that customers are looking for lower cost robotics, and that valuation appears to reflect open-ended growth. 7:52AM United Micro beats consensus. (UMC) 4.21: Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.03 per ADS, $0.01 better than the Reuters Research consensus of $0.02; revenues rose 17.6% year/year to $631.4 mln vs the $616.9 mln consensus. 7:43AM EMC to unveil high end storage products (EMC) 10.15: The Wall Street Journal reports the co will be unveiling several products which include its largest capacity data storage array in an attempt to attract high-end customers who have turned to rivals IBM and the data storage unit of Japan's Hitachi. 10:45AM Ratings Briefing - BRKS : Like the stock of other semiconductor companies, shares of Brooks Automation (BRKS 19.04 -1.77) got swept up in the recent market rally, and have more than doubled off their mid-March lows. Analysts have done their part to usher in the buying frenzy, with equity research shops like Needham reiterating its Strong Buy rating, and brokerage firms such as JP Morgan upgrading BRKS to Overweight. Signs of meaningful improvement to the business, though, have been an afterthought to the stock's run, as Brooks has remained unprofitable and has seen it sales fall in the past quarter. Today, AG Edwards brought reality crashing down on the stock with its downgrade to Sell from Hold that has sent BRKS plunging 8%. The firm notes that the company's balance sheet is riddled with an equal amount of debt and cash, and its cost structure is much higher than rivals who specialize in robotics. As for the top-line, AG Edwards points out that Brooks has lost market share to customers who have found lower cost alternatives. Consequently, the firm believes that, barring a significant upturn in business, Brooks will not report a profit on a GAAP basis until FY05 (Sept). In short, AG Edwards' call serves as a reminder that semiconductor-related stocks, in general, have gotten ahead of fundamentals. Certainly, end-market demand should continue to improve as the economy shows signs of strengthening; however, semiconductor stocks are (arguably) currently priced for a substantial turnaround in business conditions over the near-term that is ambitious to say the least. That fact leaves companies like Brooks Automation vulnerable to sharp stock corrections in the event of earnings warnings, or downgrades, such as the one by AG Edwards. -- Heather Smith, Briefing.com 9:16AM The Technical Take : A bit more volatility and volume for the market averages on Tuesday but the end result was the same as the trading range environment remains the dominant theme. There were some solid price swings in individual names on an intraday basis but in similar fashion to the action in the indices, follow through failed to develop making this a market more suited for day traders. Overall the shorter term take is cautious based on seasonal factors and the generally sloppy trading pattern and volume during rally attempts of late but there has been no concrete evidence yet that the market is ready to roll over. Leadership has come from the small caps and tech sectors and will be watching here for possible signs of building pressure. Also important to continue to focus in on well defined support for a number of sector indices. Nasdaq Composite: The index put together an outside day with a lower close with volume rising. While this is a negative, the index closed slightly above the session midpoint after bouncing off support. In fact the index continues to closely follow the short term levels that we have been highlighting as 30 minute bar chart below illustrates. To see the near term technical levels of interest go to The Technical Take Stock Brief. Send suggestions, comments or questions to -- Jim Schroeder, Briefing.com biz.yahoo.com Stan, thanks for posting the articles you added to this thread. RtS