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

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (27956)	2/1/1999 8:36:00 PM
From: Xpiderman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Analyst recommends chip equipment stocks Analyst recommends chip equipment stocks By Tiare Rath, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 8:22 PM ET Feb 1, 1999 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- A NationsBanc Montgomery Securities analyst recommended a series of chip equipment stocks Monday and tried to explain their skyrocketing stock prices. Brett Hodess, who gave a speech late Monday afternoon to NationsBanc Montgomery Technology conference attendees, said the next two years' growth and bottomed-out orders are driving chip equipment stocks. The industry and their stocks took a beating last year over reduced demand for their products from customers. It's widely assumed in the industry that orders and demand for products hit their lowest levels in September, which left many investors thinking the only way to go was up. As a result, semiconductor shares have jumped over the past few months. Hodess predicted the semiconductor capital equipment industry will fall 5 percent in 1999 but grow 25 percent to 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2001. Time, though, is of the essence, he said. "You have to be early with this group," said Hodess, who started recommending the stocks in July. Among his picks at the presentation were Applied Materials (AMAT) and Novellus (NVLS), both of which he said could hit $100 a share in the next 12 months. Hodess also recommended KLA-Tencor (KLAC) and Teradyne (TER), which could trade at $75 a share and $80 a share in the next year, respectively, he said. Among his other favorites are DuPont Photomask (DPMI), Phototronics (PLAB), Speedfam (SFAM), Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) and Electro Scientific (ESIO). When an audience member asked about LAM Research (LRCX), Hodess said that, at the stock's current price, he's like to see "more improvement" from the company. Semiconductor stocks are often considered cyclical, and investors are looking to their upturn as they come out of one of their worst slumps in two decades. The stocks are going higher despite less-than-stellar sales and profit because investors are bidding them up to about 25 times 2000 and 2001 price-to-earnings ratios, he said. "That's the only reason these stocks make sense," he told the audience, which responded with laughter.

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (27956)	2/2/1999 3:44:00 PM
From: Duker	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 70976

Here we go ... Intel plans 300-mm fab in Oregon By Jack Robertson SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Intel Corp. here has decided to go ahead with its first 300-mm, 0.13-micron-design-rule fab in Oregon, and next month will announce a 10-year, $10 billion program in the next-generation wafer size, sources said today. Intel will launch construction this year of a 300-mm development fab that will expanded into initial production, according to the sources. Next month's announcement will cover a full-blown Intel plan to expand into multi-fab 300-mm production over the next decade. Intel's commitment is expected to revive the chip industry's lagging 300-mm wafer interest. After Siemens Semiconductor Group and Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector launched a 300-mm pilot line in Dresden, Germany, other chip makers, including Intel, put their larger-size wafer plans on the shelf. One major equipment firm, Applied Materials Inc., reportedly will reinstitute its own 300-mm program, based on a large order for equipment for the new Oregon fab. Along with the rest of industry, Applied froze its 300-mm program early last year when chip makers backed away from launching even pilot lines. --Duker