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

To: etchmeister who wrote (20787)	10/3/2006 10:39:41 AM
From: niek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

Analyst sees steady orders for chip-making equipment over next two quarters The Semiconductor Reporter October 3, 2006 BOSTON -- The overall orders picture for semiconductor production equipment looks to neither rising nor falling signficantly through the fourth quarter and the first quarter next year, according to Stuart Muter, a financial analyst with RBC Capital Markets. The analyst consensus had pointed to some decline in orders in the fourth quarter, but orders appear to be firming up, based on checks made by RBC, the analyst said in a research note today. Some analysts still expect a slight decline in orders for Q4, but Muter now expects orders for the quarter to come in sequentially flat, following Q3 orders that came in flat to slightly up sequentially, as expected. Muter said "healthy orders" are expected in Q4 from AMD, Intel, Micron, Nanya, Powerchip, ProMos, Samsung and Toshiba. Projecting into the first quarter, no significant decline in orders is seen, with Q1 now looking "flattish," he added. Memory chip makers remain the primary drivers of equipment orders, and observers are becoming more convinced that NAND flash memory and DRAM suppliers can continue issuing equipment orders well into next year, the analyst believes. Muter said he could not predict when memory suppliers would back off their current level of equipment ordering, adding that fears of a memory-induced downturn in 2007 are lurking "just below the surface." That concern is likely to hold back investor sentiment with respect to chip equipment stocks, Muter said, despite the fact that investors have as a group become more bullish on these companies in recent weeks. If the Q1 orders picture remains positive as visibility into the time period improves, stock prices in this volatile sector could rise, he suggested.