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Technology Stocks : Semi-Equips - Buy when BLOOD is running in the streets! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Jay M. Harris who wrote (3909)12/17/1997 1:35:00 PM
From: Ed Beers  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 10921
 
Jay,

<Clark; Microns blended average ASP was $3.60 for a 16 meg die in the
most recent quarter. This was down 44% from $6.50 in the prior
quarter, and 58% from $8.25 the preceeding quarter >

In the conference call, they said ASP was $5.00, down 25%.

<Micron is currently at .3 micron process technology with fewer
masking steps than any other DRAM supplier.>

Can you supply a reference or rational for this statement. I have
heard this before but I have never heard an explanation for why
they would require few mask layers. I can readily believe that they
may have required fewer at one time for some chip on some process but
I don't understand why this would be true over the long term. Do they
have patent protection on something which allows this?



To: Jay M. Harris who wrote (3909)12/17/1997 4:17:00 PM
From: Clarksterh  Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 10921
 
Jay - "Current 16 meg ASPs are at $2.5 to $3.20 for SDRAM. Hence,
at prevailing prices MU is already losing money with a 15% premium over all other DRAM suppliers."

Well, this assumes that the prices stay down that low, and I suspect that they won't. They will probably rebound somewhat, for a while as soon as S. Korea stops unloading their inventory for cash. By the time that they sink down to this level again I suspect MU will have moved forward a notch.

"Clark; would you buy bonds of Fabs operating at a loss to fund .25 Micron capacity, hence, doubling the supply of SDRAM at todays and possibly lower prices?"

Yes, actually I was considering buying some MU (I don't do bonds, generally). I expect that they will have gained considerable market share by next upturn, and I expect that upturn to be VERY profitable just as it was after Japan exited the DRAM field.

Clark