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

To: Charles Webster who wrote (28339)	2/17/1999 8:44:00 AM
From: Paul V.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

CharlesMust be alot of shorts on this thread. Yes, and we long term SI'ers have seen the shorter's loose their shorts when they try to short at this point. It will be of interest to those on this site to watch them in the immediate future. Momentum is on the side of AMAT at this time. Just my opinions. Paul From the Wall Street Electronic Edition today: Applied Materials Inc. Dow Jones Newswires -- February 16, 1999 Applied Materials CEO Expects 2Q Orders To Rise From 1Q By Cecilia M. Kang PALO ALTO, Calif., (Dow Jones)--Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) Chief Executive Jim Morgan said Tuesday his company posted sequential growth in the first quarter on stronger sales and should continue to see earnings momentum this year. In an interview with Dow Jones News Service, Morgan said, "Our sector in the industry should continue to pick up this year." The world's largest semiconductor equipment maker is expected to post second-quarter net profit between 22 cents a share and 25 cents a share with revenues of $925 million to $1 billion, Morgan told Dow Jones. Applied's chief executive added that new orders, which greatly exceeded Wall Street expectations in the first quarter, should rise sequentially. Though Applied saw a year-on-year decline in first-quarter earnings, the Santa Clara, Calif. company's net profit, revenue and bookings grew from the previous quarter and significantly exceeded Wall Street estimates. After Tuesday's market close, Applied said it recorded operating income of 11 cents a share in the first quarter ended Jan. 31, down from 52 cents a share in the year-ago period but up from 6 cents a share in the previous quarter. The company surpassed a First Call Corp. first-quarter consensus estimate of 6 cents a share. First-quarter revenue fell to $742 million from $1.31 billion in the previous year, but was up from $673 million in the previous quarter. New orders reached $1.03 billion in the first quarter compared with a year-ago $1.29 billion and $684 million in the previous quarter. Orders were sharply higher than the company's earlier guidance of $600 million to $675 million. Applied's Morgan said the company's results were sequentially stronger than expected because of a pick up in sales late in the quarter. "We had a lot of customers that were hedging early in the quarter, but when some began to buy in the middle of the last quarter, more customers accelerated their buying so that they were sure they had a position in the production line," Morgan said. Stronger results compared with the previous quarter portend momentum for recovery in the semiconductor and semiconductor equipment market, analysts said. Robert Maire, an analyst at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, has raised his recommendation on Applied Materials to "top tick" from "buy" after the "excellent" first-quarter earnings report. "They are taking more market share and recovering faster than the industry," Maire said. "Orders were well beyond expectations and they even blew away whisper numbers" of around $900 milion on new orders for the first quarter. Maire said he has also raised this stock price target to $90 from $75 on a one-year horizon. The DLJ analyst said he had raised his price target to $75 only a couple weeks ago. Applied Materials CEO Morgan declined to give specific forecasts for the full year 1999, but said, "the third quarter will fill nicely, but I'm uncertain about the later part of the year." Ali Irani, an analyst at CIBC Oppenheimer, said the company should be able to post year-on-year growth again near the end of the year. Irani added that sequential comparisons for the first quarter are better indications of the company's performance and potential growth because 1998 was an extremely bleak year in the cyclical semiconductor and semiconductor equipment industry. Applied also saw geographic growth in most regions and is expected to see regional sales expanding "across the board," said Morgan. North American sales made up 38% of the new orders, with 17% from Europe, 20% from Japan, 6% from Korea, 14% from Taiwan and 5% from Southeast Asia and China. The trend expected to support Applied's recovery will the industry's move to the next technology node of 0.18 micron technology from 0.25 micron technology, Morgan said. The move to smaller and more powerful chips will most benefit Applied Materials, which has superior technology and a reliable and proven platform to operate its technology, Irani said. In post-market trade Tuesday, Applied Materials' shares rose to 68 1/2 from their regular-session close of 67 7/8, following the semiconductor company's upbeat first-quarter earnings report. - Cecilia M. Kang; (650) 496-1367