From Briefing.com: 4:35PM Intersil acquires D2Audio, developer of intelligent gigital audio power amplifier (ISIL) 23.61 -0.25 : Co announces that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire D2Audio Corporation, a privately-held innovation leader in the design of digital audio power amplifiers for consumer, commercial, automotive and professional audio applications. Co may record a one-time charge to operating income for purchased in-process research and development expenses when the closing occurs. Intersil expects that the merger with D2Audio will have an immaterial impact on the third quarter and full year 2008 earnings. The amount of that charge, if any, has not yet been determined.
4:32PM Ultra Clean Holdings beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; announces $10 mln buyback (UCTT) 6.78 +0.18 : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.01 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.02); revenues fell 35.7% year/year to $67.4 mln vs the $69.5 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of ($0.03)- ($0.10) vs. $0.01 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $60-66 mln vs. $70.83 mln consensus. "While we remain very confident in our strategic direction, we remain cautious about the near term outlook, due to continued declines in semiconductor capital equipment demand, partially offset by our growth in non-semiconductor markets." ... Co also announced $10 mln buyback.
4:25PM Trident Microsystems beats by $0.08, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs below consensus; guides FY09 revs below consensus (TRID) 3.86 -0.32 : Reports Q4 (Jun) earnings of $0.11 per share, $0.08 better than the First Call consensus of $0.03. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $32-36 mln vs. $46.76 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09, sees FY09 revs of $115-135 mln vs. $185.00 mln consensus. Co also announces that on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, it appointed Pete Mangan as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Mangan joined Trident in January 2008 as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance.
4:12PM Advanced Analogic Tech misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS, guides Q3 revs in-line with consensus (AATI) 4.27 -0.36 : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.02); revenues fell 17.8% year/year to $21.2 mln vs the $21.1 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q3, sees GAAP EPS of ($0.03)-(0.01), may not be comparable to $0.02 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $24-26 mln vs. $24.52 mln consensus.
4:05PM Veeco Instruments receives multi-unit order from Spectrolab to support capacity increase (VECO) 14.94 -0.96 : The co announces that during the recently completed second quarter the Company received a multi-unit order for its TurboDisc K-475 As/P (arsenic phosphide) metal organic chemical vapor (MOCVD) deposition systems from Boeing Spectrolab.
4:20 pm : Monday was not a good session for stock market bulls. Stocks tumbled 1.9%, settling at session lows, after the financial sector was unable to hold onto its opening gains, prompting a broad-based sell off. A 1.2% rise in oil prices compounded selling interest.
All ten of the economic sectors posted a loss on relatively light trading volume.
The financial sector got off to a good start, rising 1.6%, even though news ahead of the opening bell was somewhat negative. Over the weekend, the FDIC shut down two undercapitalized regional banks -- First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank -- marking the sixth and seventh failures this year. The banks' deposits were taken over by Mutual of Omaha. The closures did not come as a complete shock, as it is widely expected that more regional banks will fail, although the news certainly did not help bring buyers to the table.
The financial sector quickly reversed course as a sharp drop in shares of Merrill Lynch (MER 24.21, -3.31) sent the sector tumbling. There was no specific news item to account for the 12% drop in MER, although there were heightened concerns due to some increased options buying.
In late afternoon, Treasury Secretary Paulson and four of the U.S. largest banks announced support for covered bonds as an instrument to improve mortgage financing oportunities. Covered bonds are similar to traditional asset-backed securities, but would remain on the issuers' balance sheet. The announcement did little to please investors, with the financial sector ending the session down 4.5%. The sector is down 11.5% in the last three sessions, but is still up 18.5% from its July 15 52-week low.
The consumer discretionary sector fell 2.5%, as the 1.2% rise in crude oil prices weighed on oil-sensitive names. Oil advanced on reports of unrest in Nigeria. Conversely, the energy sector outperformed on a relative basis with a 0.5% loss, although the sector fell from a gain of 1.6% as the broader market slipped.
In earnings news, telecom (-2.3%) underperformed after investors soured on Verizon Communication's (VZ 33.57, -0.88) quarterly results. The company reported slightly higher-than-expected earnings due to solid wireless growth. Wall Street was concerned with the slower growth rate of the company's FiOS service.
Kraft Foods (KFT 30.87, +1.49) posted a solid gain after the company topped Wall Street's estimate with a 16% increase in second quarter earnings per share. The company was able to offset soaring commodity costs by passing increased prices on to consumers. Conversely, Tyson Foods (TSN 15.12, -1.11) was not able to pass along its increased input prices, resulting in a 90% drop in earnings per share, which fell short of expectations.
Amgen (AMGN 60.48, +6.56) was the best performing stock on Monday. Wall Street was pleased with encouraging results related to the trial of Amgen's osteoporosis drug.
In deal news, private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is going public through a takeover of its struggling European affiliate KKR Private Equity. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company, which will trade on the NYSE as KKR, may be valued between $12 billion and $15 billion.
As stocks struggled, Treasuries rallied. The 10-year note rose 21 ticks, sending its yield to 4.0%. DJ30 -239.61 NASDAQ -46.31 NQ100 -2.4% R2K -2.0% SP400 -1.2% SP500 -23.39 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 690/1.96 bln/2126 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 857/1.17 bln/2289
09:36 am Teradyne: . Target $16 to $13. Friedman Billings is trimming their ests on TER and cuts their tgt to $13 from $16. Although firm expects the shares to remain in a trading range due to macro factors, they believe the longer-term risks/rewards are attractive, especially when considering how much (4%-6%, pro forma basis) profit margin TER is generating in the current down-cycle, vs. massive losses in the previous down-cycles. Firm's new CY08 rev/pro forma/GAAP EPS ests are $1.190 bln/$0.45/$0.16, while their CY09 ests have changed to $1.284 bln/$0.63/$0.48 (consensus FY08 $0.58 and $1.227 bln, FY09 $.74 and $1.299 bln). |
