From Briefing.com: Weekly Recap - Week ending 12-Jun-09It was a relatively quiet week of trade, with the S&P 500 settling with a modest 0.4% gain.
For the week, seven of the ten sectors posted a gain, led by utilities (+3.9%). Consumer staples underperformed with a 1.3% loss.
Semiconductors had a solid showing after Texas Instruments (TXN) raised its second quarter guidance, saying all of its major product lines are growing and that manufacturing utilization has improved. The company now expects revenue of between $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion, versus the $2.2 billion consensus and the prior range of $1.95 billion to $2.4 billion. TXN forecast EPS of between $0.14 and $0.22, versus the consensus of $0.10 and the prior guidance of $0.01 to $0.15 per share. Shares of TXN rose 5.6% for the week, with the Semiconductor Index climbing 1.5%.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm (QCOM) raised its fiscal third quarter revenue and operating income guidance based on stronger-than-expected demand for the company's chipsets. QCOM rose 1.4% for the week.
In other corporate news, the Treasury announced that 10 of the 19 largest U.S. financial institutions, including US Bancorp (USB), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS), will be allowed to repay $68 billion of TARP funds.
In economic news, the Fed's Beige Book stated that there are signs that the economic decline is slowing, with several districts indicating that their expectations have improved.
Initial unemployment claims for the week ended June 6 fell 24,000 to 601,000, which was better than the consensus estimate of 615,000. Continuing claims, however, continued to rise, reflecting the weak labor market. For the week ended May 30, continuing claims rose 59,000 to 6.816 million.
The May retail sales numbers were about as expected, posting a moderate increase of 0.5% for both total sales and excluding autos. Gasoline sales, which rose 3.6%, helped boost the numbers. Excluding this component, retail sales were up 0.2%. Retail sales may be challenging over the months ahead given declining payrolls and weakening wage gains.
Treasuries had a volatile week, coming under pressure early in the week on reports that the Russian Central Bank is set to cut its Treasury holdings and a disappointing 10-year note auction. The 10-year note yield hit nearly 4.00%, but ended the week at 3.79% after a solid 30-year auction, reassuring comments from Japan and a Wall Street Journal report that the Fed may increase its purchase program.
The dollar saw swings in conjunction with Treasures, falling 0.6% for the week.
In commodity trading, oil rose 5.5%. The CRB Index rose 1.7%.
Index Started Week Ended Week Change % Change YTD %
DJIA 8763.13 8799.26 36.13 0.4 0.3
Nasdaq 1849.42 1858.80 9.38 0.5 17.9
S&P 500 940.09 946.21 6.12 0.7 4.8 Russell 2000 530.36 526.83 -3.53 -0.7 5.5
Flextronics (FLEX) announces that it is extending the Early Tender/Consent Deadline for its previously announced cash tender offer to purchase up to $100 mln of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of its 6 1/2% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2013, and up to $100 mln of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of its 6 1/4% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2014, and its related consent solicitation to adopt certain proposed amendments to the restricted payments covenants and certain related definitions contained in each of the indentures under which the Notes were issued.
Altera Corporation (ALTR) announced that Timothy Morse, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will resign effective June 12 to pursue another opportunity. A search for a replacement is underway. James W. Callas, vice-president finance and corporate controller, will serve as acting chief financial officer...
7:27AM RF Micro Device estimates and tgt raised to $4 at Oppenheimer as demand trends create a postive outlook (RFMD) 3.43 : Oppenheimer raises their Q1 and FY10/11 EPS ests to $0.01 from $(0.01) (consensus $0.00) and to $0.08/$0.13 from $0.02/$0.09 (consensus $0.08 and $0.17), respectively. The firm also raises their tgt to $4 from $3. The firm notes that RFMD has been vocal during the quarter with respect to the pace of its recovery, suggesting demand trends are better than guided to on its last earnings call. The firm's checks support the positive outlook and also reveal that part of the strength stems from market share gains at Nokia and Samsung. The firm expect RFMD's momentum to carry over into the September quarter, with revenue growth likely to remain stronger than the underlying handset market. In addition, the firm expects the stronger volumes to drive higher yields and likely near-term gross margin upside as well.
1:20AM Rambus reaches tentative settlement with European Commission (RMBS) 15.09 : Co announces that it has reached a tentative settlement with the European Commission to resolve the pending case against the co. Under the proposed resolution, the Commission would make no finding of liability relative to JEDEC-related charges, and no fine would be assessed against Rambus. In addition, Rambus would commit to offer licenses with maximum royalty rates for certain memory types and memory controllers on a forward-going basis. European Commission antitrust procedures stipulate that a final decision must be preceded by a consultation of interested third parties on the terms of the commitments offered; this consultation was initiated today. Under the proposed resolution, Rambus will offer licenses with maximum royalty rates for five-year worldwide licenses of 1.5% for DDR2, DDR3, GDDR3 and GDDR4 SDRAM memory types. Licensees who ship less than 10% of their DRAM products in the older SDR and DDR DRAM types will enjoy a royalty holiday for those older types, subject to compliance with the terms of the license. In addition, Rambus will offer licenses with maximum royalty rates for five-year worldwide licenses of 1.5% per unit for SDR memory controllers through April 2010, dropping to 1.0% thereafter, and royalty rates of 2.65% per unit for DDR, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR3 and GDDR4 memory controllers through April 2010, then dropping to 2.0%.
08:07 am National Semiconductor (NSM)
National Semiconductor (NSM 14.49) posted a narrower-than-expected loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, and issued upside guidance for its fiscal first quarter after the company said it has seen a pick up in orders.
National Semiconductor posted a loss of $0.28 per share in its fiscal fourth quarter, $0.10 better than the First Call consensus that expected a loss of $0.38 per share. The net loss of $64 million includes a pre-tax restructuring charge of $116 million primarily related to severance and asset impairments.
Revenues fell 39.2% year-over-year to $280.8 million but managed to top the consensus estimate of $273.4 million.
National Semi said that total company bookings in the quarter increased approximately 30% sequentially over the third quarter. The increase was attributable to increased orders from manufacturers of wireless handsets and other personal mobile devices as well as increased bookings from distributors who serve the broader electronics market.
"Business conditions improved throughout the quarter," said CEO Brian L. Halla. "We saw increasing orders from our wireless handset customers as they began ramping production of new smartphone models."
The improved conditions prompted National Semiconductor to issue upside guidance for its fiscal first quarter. The company expects first quarter revenues to range from $285 million to $305 million; the consensus currently stands at $282.52 million. The company's revenue forecast translates to approximately 2-9% growth sequentially.
Shares of NSM are up 43.7% year-to-date but remain well off the 52-week high of $24.21. |
