To: Return to Sender who wrote (56328 ) 5/16/2012 7:14:36 PM From: Donald Wennerstrom 1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) | Respond to Tech stocks weighed down by chip sectorCOMP SOX MSH KLAC LRCX NVLS Christopher Blansett of J.P. Morgan downgraded the three stocks to underweight, or the equivalent of sell. In a note to clients, the analyst predicted "a downtick" in capital expenditures by chip foundries in the second half of the year, and that capital spending in the memory and logic sectors of the business will be lower than many investors expect. "At this time demand momentum for semi equipment appears to be slowing, and we think news flow associated with semi capex is likely to turn negative as we head into the summer," Blansett wrote. AMAT Offsetting the declines somewhat for the chip group was Micron Technology ( MU which was up 2% closing at $6.15 after some brokers issued positive notes on the company's expected merger with bankrupt Japanese chip maker Elpida, which is currently in negotiations.
