Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Donald Wennerstrom who wrote (15830)	6/19/2004 1:40:06 AM
From: Donald Wennerstrom	Respond to of 95503

Equipment data draw mixed reaction cbs.marketwatch.com <<By Michael Paige, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 5:08 PM ET June 18, 2004 LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- Shares of semiconductor-related companies gave up their best levels Friday, with key chip-gear maker Applied Materials reversing gains to close in the red as industry data garnered mixed views. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX: news, chart, profile) closed down 0.1 percent at 453.08 after earlier rising by as much as 1.6 percent. The Goldman Sachs Hardware Index ($GHA: news, chart, profile) also slipped by 0.1 percent to close at 243.56. The three-month average of bookings for equipment used to make semiconductor chips more than doubled in May from a year earlier, according to data released overnight by industry association SEMI. However, bookings remained flat with the prior month and the book-to-bill slipped on a month-over-month basis. The industry's book-to-bill ratio came in at 1.11, slipping from 1.13 reported for April, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International. A book-to-bill ratio of 1.11 means that $111 worth of orders were received for every $100 worth of product billed during the month. While SEMI was upbeat on the industry's outlook, saying the data indicate 2004 will be a "strong" year for the chip equipment market, some analysts took a less enthusiastic view. At Stanford Financial, analyst Timothy Summers said the data were bad news for the stocks. "First, any [month-over-month] decline in the ratio, regardless of one's belief in the accuracy or relevance of the data, clearly puts a damper on investors' enthusiasm to buy semiconductor equipment stocks," he wrote in a note to investors. "This month's data are more negative, though, and set the tone for future disappointments," he added. Yet the slight sequential change was interpreted as "a temporary summer pause in activity," according to Bear Stearns analyst Michael O'Brien. O'Brien is looking for orders to pick up in late summer. He believes the chip industry's current cycle is sustainable and likely to continue into at least the middle of next year.>> [snip]