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Technology Stocks : Cymer (CYMI) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: orkrious who wrote (20778)	1/29/1999 10:47:00 PM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 25960

Chip equipment suppliers get upgrades from analyst semibiznews.com A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted 2:45 p.m/12:45 p.m., PST, 1/29/99 SAN FRANCISCO--With an eye on higher chip sales and the potential for increased capital spending, a senior analyst with BancBoston Robertson Stephens today upgraded the stock of five major semiconductor capital equipment suppliers. Analyst Sue Billat boosted the stocks rating of Applied Materials Inc., Novellus Systems Inc. and Teradyne Inc. from "buy" to "strong buy," while upgrading Lam Research Corp. and Advanced Energy Industries Inc. from "long term attractive" to "buy." Billat pointed specifically to higher bookings at Lam, and predicted the company's booking rate would outpace the industry through the second quarter. Share prices for Lam have been climbing steadily since last fall, when they hovered in the $10 range well into the fourth quarter. They began to gain in November and closed yesterday at $35.31. Better economic conditions in the Far East will lead to better sales in the equipment sector, Billat predicted. "We believe that key industry players will benefit from the recent uptick in business in Asia," she said. "These players will also benefit from the high percentage of capital expenditures from major chip makers earmarked for advanced process and test equipment." She noted that the Korean chip companies, in the doldrums throughout 1998, have increased their equipment orders, while the Taiwanese foundries are running near capacity for 0.25-micron manufacturing and are likely to order more equipment. The other four companies' share values have followed the same trend as Lam. Applied Materials closed yesterday at $59, after climbing steadily since the mid-fourth quarter when the price was in the low $20 range. Novellus has dipped slightly this month but closed Thursday at $67.69, up from the low $20 prices seen early in the fourth quarter. Teradyne has increased from nearly $10 in September to close at $58.50 yesterday. Advanced Energy Industries, a supplier to the equipment vendors, was at $26.50 yesterday, up from the sub-$10 prices reported through last October. Billat issued a report last October upgrading the entire equipment industry, suggesting the segment had hit bottom and was posed for recovery at least through the near-term. A wide spectrum of equipment stocks subsequently showed steady gains in the fourth quarter, mirroring the trend seen in the five companies she upgraded this morning. "We believe that chip makers are looking for faster deliveries from their suppliers. This trend should, in our view, benefit those equipment companies that have implemented lean manufacturing programs, notably Applied, Novellus, Advanced Energy, Lam and Teradyne."