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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Ox who wrote (14840)	5/9/2005 12:22:41 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

Applied Materials May Regain Leadership Position 05.09.05, 12:17 PM ET Bear Stearns maintained an "outperform" rating on Applied Materials (nasdaq: AMAT - news - people ), saying it expects a "fairly uneventful" second-quarter earnings report next week with results generally inline. "Our checks indicate that Applied's April quarter will have very little to offer in the way of surprises," said Bear Stearns. "We look for Applied to at least meet the upper end of its 16 cents to 17 cents earnings [per share] guidance; and a penny of upside to 18 cents is certainly a possibility." Bear Stearns expects third-quarter guidance to be flat to up 5%. "From our vantage point, the July quarter still appears headed for an increase in orders, although the company may decide to take a more conservative approach to the outlook given the recent broader macro concerns that have been expressed by the market," the firm said. "And while we believe that double-digit order growth is not out of the realm of possibility, we doubt management will want to get overly aggressive on the call. Flat panel orders should achieve another increase, with semi equipment orders likely to benefit from bookings activity on the part of Samsung (otc: SSNLF - news - people ), Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ), Hynix and ProMos." Bear Stearns trimmed the fiscal 2005 earnings-per-share forecast to 78 cents from 82 cents but maintained the fiscal 2006 estimate of $1.15. "Applied could demonstrate fundamental outperformance in upcoming quarters, enabling the stock to regain its historical leadership position." The research firm maintained a $25 target on Applied Materials. "While the industry may remain choppy in the next few months, we believe that with key indicators like chip unit volume growth, wafer starts, and fab utilization rates each bottoming in the June quarter or having already reached their bottom, investors will be well-served to own the group as we head into summer," said Bear Stearns. Applied Materials will report fiscal second-quarter earnings on May 17 after the market close.