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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brad Rogers who wrote (20395)	6/15/1998 11:14:00 AM
From: Ian@SI	Respond to of 70976

Extract from a WSJ story... ... Analysts now largely believe that there is little hope for a recovery in the stocks before the end of this year. And there are several things that must happen if that recovery is to come as early as December, said Michael O'Brien, an analyst at SoundView Financial Group Inc. "People were expecting to see a turn in orders in mid-1998, [and] now it's looking like the first, maybe the second quarter of 1999," he said. Analysts say that investors should time any buying of equipment stocks to signs that chip prices are firming and that chip manufacturers are once again starting to construct new factories. New factories and higher prices mean more demand for equipment used to make the chips. Sue Billat, an analyst at BancAmerica Robertson Stephens & Co. is slightly more optimistic than Mr. O'Brien, and thinks a turnaround may come sooner. "I think we're bumping along the bottom," she said, but added that "there will probably be a few more surprises on the way." Still, she thinks that Applied will emerge stronger from this protracted downturn and has it rated "buy," recommending it for investors willing to tolerate some bumpiness. If it drops as far as the low 20s "you'll see me jumping up and down and telling people to buy," she said. Applied Materials ended Friday up 3/8 to 28 5/8 on Nasdaq, after sinking early in the day. "One of the things about a downturn that's protracted is that it tends to separate the wheat from the chaff," she said. "At the end of this we'll see fewer capital-equipment players, but stronger ones." ...