Posts for Ticker ‘LRCX’

Top Analyst Upgrades (C, CY, DRYS, LRCX, ONNN, PSUN, PKX, RL)

These are this morning’s top analyst upgrades and positive research calls from Wall Street firms we have seen with about two hours until the market opens:

Citigroup (C) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Cypress Semiconductor (CY) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
DryShips (DRYS) Raised to Buy at Lazard.
Lam Research (LRCX) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
On Semiconductor (ONNN) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Pacific Sunwear (PSUN) Raised to Outperform at FBR Capital.
Posco (PKX) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) Started as Buy at UBS.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 13, 2009

Posted on: October 13, 2009 – 7:50 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (AKS, BMY, CREE, JPM, LRCX, MAR, RIMM, SVNT, SE, VIA)

These are this Friday morning’s top Wall Street analyst upgrades and positive research calls:

AK Steel (AKS) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Bristol-Myers (BMY) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Cree (CREE) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan
J.P. Morgan (JPM) Started as Strong Buy at Raymond James.
Lam Research (LRCX) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Marriott (MAR) Raised to buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Research in Motion (RIMM) Raised to Outperform at R.W. Baird.
Savient Pharma (SVNT) Raised to Outperformat Oppenheimer.
Spectra Energy (SE) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Viacom (VIA) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
October 9, 2009

Posted on: October 9, 2009 – 7:43 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Morgan Stanley’s Key Technology Upgrades & Downgrades (IBM, DELL, CTXS, ADSK, NVLS, TXN, STM, PMCS, QLGC, LRCX, XLNX)

Bull and Bear ImageMorgan Stanley has made several key downgrades in technology, as well as a few lesser upgrades.  Both IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) were downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight.  Also cut to underweight were Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) and Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK).  Novellus Systems (NASDAQ: NVLS) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) were downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight; and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) was cut to Underweight.

There were actually a few Morgan Stanley upgrades in the broader call as well.  PMC-Sierra (NASDAQ: PMCS), QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC), Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) and Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) were all raised to Overweight.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 8, 2009 – 9:01 am in Analyst Calls, Software, Technology Companies, , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (BEN, KLAC, NVLS, LRCX, JWN, OSK, STX, WDC, S)

These are the top analyst upgrades and positive research calls from Wall Street this Monday morning with about two hours until the market opens:

Franklin Resources (BEN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
KLA-Tencor (KLAC), Novellus Systems (NVLS) and Lam Research (LRCX) were all three Raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Nordstrom (JWN) Raised to Neutral and off Conviction Sell List at Goldman Sachs.
Oshkosh (OSK) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Seagate Tech (STX) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill.
Western Digital (WDC) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill.
Sprint (S) Raised to Buy at Auriga.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: July 6, 2009 – 6:35 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (ARUN, CTV, DPS, ESRX, GENZ, ISRG, LRCX, MXIM, NUAN)

These are some of the top analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen this Tuesday morning from Wall Street:

Aruba Networks (ARUN) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
CommScope (CTV) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Express Scripts (ESRX) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Genzyme (GENZ) Started as Buy at Collins Stewart.
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Raised to Buy at Lazard.
Lam Research (LRCX) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Maxim (MXIM) Raised to Buy at Canaccord.
Nuance Communications (NUAN) Started as Buy at Canaccord.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: April 14, 2009 – 7:30 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

KLA-Tencor Kills V-Bottom Chip Recovery Hopes (KLAC, AMAT, LRCX)

burning-money-pic41KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) is the second largest US-based semiconductor cap-ex stock by market cap, or at least out of the go-to universe we track with Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) ahead of it and Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) behind it.  Last night, the company killed any hopes of a v-bottom recovery in orders for the sector revolving around capital expenditures in the semiconductor sector.  It also confirmed industry data from last week that further slowdowns were seen in orders.  The process control and yield management systems for semiconductor companies announced that it was further cutting 10% of its workforce.

The company said it is continuing in its efforts to control costs and to respond to depressed market conditions.  This round of cuts is in addition to a workforce reduction that was announced in November 2008. KLA is looking to eliminate quarterly non-GAAP operating expenses of $140-145 million by the end of calendar year 2009, adjusted from the company’s previously announced target of $165-170 million.

Despite prior cuts in operating costs, KLA said it must further cut operating expenses “in order to respond to the current demand environment.” The translation there is simple: semiconductor companies are not spending on more cap-ex. Other cost-cutting actions facilities consolidation (i.e. factory closings or lease terminations), additional forced time off (unpaid vacation) and a reduction in employee stock purchase plan benefits (lower benefits).

KLA-Tencor estimates charges of approximately $20 million to $30 million, including $18 to $22 million related to estimated severance costs.

Here is the sad thing… Analysts were already looking for a loss in this year (June-end).  They are now looking for losses next year.  It is possible that these job cuts will help to increase the bottom-line a year out after the charges have been absorbed.  But over the last 90-day period we have seen a drastic reduction in earnings expectations from analysts.  You can bet that the analysts take note this week with a recognition that companies never really announce another round of layoffs if they are expecting a rapid return of strong orders in a quarter or two.  If KLA-Tencor was expecting a sharp recovery it might furlough workers for a month or two, but that is not what KLA-Tencor signaled last night.

Shares closed down 6.5% Monday and have yet to offer any solid indications.  Its 52-week range is $14.81 to $47.07.

Jon C. Ogg
March 31, 2009

Posted on: March 31, 2009 – 6:16 am in Labor & Unions, Semiconductor, , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (AFFX, APD, ACAS, AMLN, AMAT, AINV, CTXS, DRYS, XOM, IRBT, LRCX, NFLX, NSR, NHY, NYX, BTU, UPS)

Burning_money_picThese are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades and cautious calls we are seeing this Thursday morning:

  • Affymetrix (AFFX) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • Air Products (APD) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • American Capital (ACAS) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
  • Amylin Pharma (AMLN) Cut to Sell at Canaccord.
  • Applied Materials (AMAT) Started as Sell with $8 target at Auriga.
  • Apollo Investment (AINV) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
  • Citrix Systems (CTXS) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • DryShips (DRYS) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Exxon Mobil (XOM) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • iRobot (IRBT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Lam Research (LRCX) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Netflix (NFLX) Started as Sell at Maxim Group.
  • Neustar (NSR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Norsk Hydro (NHY) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
  • NYSE Euronext (NYX) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • Peabody Energy (BTU) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
  • United Parcel Service (UPS) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Jon C. Ogg
January 29, 2009

Posted on: January 29, 2009 – 7:57 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (KELYA, KLAC, LRCX, MRVL, PNY, RHI, SNDA, XLNX)

These are the top downgrades and negative analyst calls we are seeing this Thursday morning:

  • Kelly Services (KELYA) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
  • KLA-Tencor (KLAC) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Lam Research (LRCX) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Marvell Technology (MRVL) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • Piedmont Natural Gas (PNY) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
  • Robert Half (RHI) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
  • Shanda Interactive (SNDA) has seen estimate and targets cut by Citigroup, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs.
  • Xilinx (XLNX) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Jon C. Ogg
September 4, 2008

Posted on: September 4, 2008 – 6:26 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

52-Week Low Club (AEG, AMD, BKD, CHRT, CMG, CVI, GEHL, JOBS, LRCX, LSCC, MNI, MU, MSA, NOOF, RYL, THQI, VMED, WSM)

Today was another ugly day on Wall Street as sellers are winning over the conviction that the rumors that the bear was dead might be grossly exaggerated.  You’ll probably recognize many chip stocks on here today.  While financials led the selling today, most financial stocks were not on 52-week lows.  Here are today’s stocks that hit new 52-week lows:

  • Aegon (NYSE: AEG)
  • Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD)
  • Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD)
  • Chartered Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CHRT)
  • Chipotle Mexicann Grill (NYSE: CMG)
  • CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI)
  • Gehl Company (NASDAQ: GEHL)
  • 51Job inc.. (NASDAQ: JOBS)
  • Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX)
  • Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC)
  • McClatchy (NYSE: MNI)
  • Micron Tech (NYSE: MU)
  • Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE: MSA)
  • New Frontier (NASDAQ: NOOF)
  • Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL)
  • THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI)
  • Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ: VMED)
  • William Sonoma (NYSE: WSM)

Jon C. Ogg
July 28, 2008

Posted on: July 28, 2008 – 2:54 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ADBE, CRL, GEOY, NOKU, HUN, IVGN, LRCX, NVO, RTN, YHOO)

These are not all of the calls we are seeing in pre-market coverage, but these are ten of the calls impacting shares this Tuesday morning:

  • Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Charles River Laboratories (NYSE: CRL) downgraded to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • GeoEye (NASDAQ: GEOY) started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Hoku Scientific (NASDAQ: HOKU) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Broadpoint.
  • Huntsman (NASDAQ: HUN) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Invitrogen (NASDAQ: IVGN) Raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) raised to Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  • Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) Raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) Downgraded to Underweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.

Elsewhere in analyst coverage, you can see the full medical & biotech calls at BioHealthInvestor.com and earlier we covered some more exclusive analyst calls in Telecom, Media & Tech as well as Credit Suisse initiating coverage on the Homebuilder sector.
Jon C. Ogg
June 24, 2008

Posted on: June 24, 2008 – 6:43 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Earlybird TMT Analyst Calls (ADBE, AEIS, ASML, CLWR, DT, LRCX, MVL, TI, VRGY, YHOO)

These are the early bird calls we are seeing in telecom, media, and tech:

  • Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ: AEIS) raised to Buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • ASML Holding NV (ASML) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, but slight lowering of estimates.
  • Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) raised to Hold from Sell at at Citigroup.
  • Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) raised to Overweight from Equalweight, but target cut to EUR13 from EUR 14.50.
  • Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) raised to Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  • Marvel Enterprises (NYSE: MVL) raised to Outperform at RBC.
  • Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
  • Verigy (NASDAQ: VRGY) removed from Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List on valuation.
  • Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) Downgraded to Underweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.

Jon C. Ogg
June 24, 2008

Posted on: June 24, 2008 – 6:25 am in Analyst Calls, Internet, Media, Technology Companies, Telecom, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (A, BBBY, BBY, DTV, ECL, EP, IBM, NTAP, LRCX, MOT, CRM)

These are not the only impact analyst calls affecting stocks this morning, but these are the ones that 247WallSt.com is focusing on:

  • Agilent (A) raised to Buy at Banc of America.
  • Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • Best Buy (BBY) downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Bear Stearns.
  • DIRECTV (DTV) raised to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Lehman.
  • Ecolab (ECL) raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • El Paso (EP) raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  • IBM (IBM) and Network Appliance (NTAP) both downgraded to Neutral at UBS; shares indicated down 0.5%.
  • Lam Research (LRCX) raised to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Lehman.
  • Motorola (MOT) downgraded to Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.
  • Salesforce.com (CRM) raised to Buy at UBS; but CRM downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs; shares indicated down almost 3%.

Jon C. Ogg
January 7, 2008

Posted on: January 7, 2008 – 7:57 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

52-Week Low Club: Transport, Semiconductors & Financials (January 2, 2008)

Truckers led the drop after a fake $100 oil print and after a YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) acquisition write-down, pulling down Arkansas Best (NASDAQ: ABFS) and others.  With no surprise, airlines followed suit with Airtrain (AAI), AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL), Delta (NYSE: DAL), FedEx (FDX), Jetblue (NASDAQ:JBLU), Mesa Air (NASDAQ: MESA), Northwest Air (NYSE: NWA), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), US Air (NYSE: LCC).

Chip and tech stocks on 52-week lows: AMAT, AMD, ADTN, ARRS, ATML, BBND, CHRT, FCS, FEIC, IDTI, IM, KLAC, KLIC, LRCX, LSCC, LSI, MCRL, MRVL, MU, NSM, STM, TER, XLNX

Financial Giants on 52-Week lows: BAC, BBT, BSC, CYN, DFG, EFX, FIC, FITB, FHN, MCO, NCC, PNSN, SNV, SBP, WFC, ZION.

We kept the REIT’s and the usual suspects in retail off the list that have been here day in and day out (although many hit new 52-week lows).  Here is the huge list of others 52-week lows:

  • Automatic Data (ADP), Cardinal Health (CAH), Career Education (CECO), Diebold (NYSE: DBD), EchoStar (DISH), Superior Offshore (DEEP), Dow Chemical (DOW), Eastman Kodak (EK), Emmis (EMMS), Ford (F), Fortune Brands (FO), General Motors (GM), Hasbro (HAS), Helen of Troy (HELE), Interpublic (IPG), Mattel (MAT), McClatchy (MNI), Media General (MEG), Nortel Networks (NT), Owens Corning (OC), Paychex (OPAYX), PHH Corp. (PHH), Playboy (PLA), Radio Shack (RSH), Rite Aid (RAD), Sherwin Williams (SHW), Sprint Nextel (S), Starbucks (SBUX), Starwood Hotels (HOT), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Symantec (SYMC), Travelzoo (TZOO), VF Corp (VFC), Warner Music Group (WMG), Waste Management (WMI), Weight Watchers (WTW), Wendy’s (WEN)

Imagine how large this list would have been if retailers and REIT’s were included.
Jon C. Ogg
January 2, 2008

Posted on: January 2, 2008 – 4:23 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

LAM Research Mixed Results (LRCX)

LAM Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) has released a partial earnings release, but due to its ongoing options review it is only showing earnings.  Revenue for the period was $684.6 million, compared to estimates of just under $676 million in revenue and compared to $678.5 million for the June 2007 quarter.

No formal guidance was offered.  Shipments for the September 2007 quarter were approximately $621 million compared to June 2007 quarter shipments of approximately $694 million.  The revenue numbers were acceptable, but the lower shipments may be a slight issue for some.  Preliminary gross margin was $343.9 million, or 50.2% of revenue and preliminary operating income was $197.9 million, or 28.9% of revenue for the September 2007 quarter.

Cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash and investments balances were $1.3 billion at the end of September. Total shares outstanding as of September 23, 2007 were 124,499,377. At the end of the period, deferred revenue was $225.6 million and the anticipated future revenue value of orders shipped to Japanese customers that are not recorded as deferred revenue was approximately $62 million.

Shares of LRCX closed up 2.3% at $55.01 in normal trading, but are trading lower by about 1% at $54.50 in after-hours trading.  Until (or IF) guidance is given the jury is going to be out on this one.

Jon C. Ogg
October 10, 2007

Posted on: October 10, 2007 – 3:17 pm in Earnings, Semiconductor,

Applied Materials: What To Expect From Earnings (AMAT, KLAC, NVLS, LRCX, ASML)

AppliedMaterials (NASDAQ:AMAT) reports earnings today after the close and First Call estimates are still $0.32 EPS and$2.53 Billion in revenues.  Next quarter is also its fiscal year-endand analysts expect it to post $0.30 EPS on revenues of $2.46 Billion for the quarter.

Analysts are mixed on the stock, but average targets from analystsare between $24.00 and $25.00. The chart had been quite hard to notnotice last week when the market was in turmoil, but shares have given up a little more ground.  Last week we noted how the stock hadn’t gotten thedown market memo, because it has been in an up-trend and its shares were down only about 3% from recent highs of $23.00.  Shares are lower and closer to $21.50 now.  That recent$23.00 high is within 10% of a 5-year high.  On a static basis, option trader expectations late morning appear to bracing for a move only $0.40 to $0.55 depending on which contract you use.  Keep in mind that with a Friday options expiration the time value will erode rapidly.

Interestingly enough, one of the things that has been helpingApplied out is its new and upcoming solar operations.  After a coupleof recent solar and silicon related purchases and with the extracapacity that Applied has in its capacity arsenal, this solar operationis becoming a business that has the potential of becoming a dominantplayer in the coming years.  It is even feasible that this could becomeits own entity to unlock shareholder value down the road, although thatis far too soon to predict or target.

Bets have been that despite a weak cap-ex market that it willchange or at least not deteriorate.  Themain US chip equipment and cap-ex names to watch for secondary movementare KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC), Novellus (NASDAQ:NVLS), LAM Research(NASDAQ:LRCX), and ASML Holdings NV (NASDAQ:ASML) in Europe.

Jon C. Ogg
August 14, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

               

Posted on: August 14, 2007 – 9:59 am in Earnings, Semiconductor, , , , , ,

Previewing Applied Materials Earnings; They Didn’t Get The Down Market Memo (AMAT, KLAC, NVLS, LRCX, ASML)

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) reports on Tuesday, August 14.  This will be interesting for chip equipment stocks as this is the largest chip equipment stock out there, but the main reason this will be even more interesting than normally is thatthis has held up incredibly well in what has become quite a crummy stock market.  As of today, First Call estimates are $0.32 EPS and $2.53 Billion in revenues.  Next quarter is also its fiscal year-end and analysts expect it to post $0.30 EPS on revenues of $2.46 Billion. 

Analysts are mixed on the stock, but average targets from analysts are between $24.00 and $25.00. The chart has been quite hard to not notice.  Bets have been that despite a weak cap-ex market that it will change or at least not deteriorate.  The stock so far hasn’t gotten the down market memo, because it has been in an up-trend and its shares are just down about 3% from recent highs of $23.00.  In fact, that recent $23.00 high is within 10% of a 5-year high.  We are not going to comment on option trader expectations today because of the volatile market and time value compression with options expiration being next Friday.

Interestingly enough, one of the things that has been helping Applied out is its new and upcoming solar operations.  After a couple of recent solar and silicon related purchases and with the extra capacity that Applied has in its capacity arsenal, this solar operation is becoming a business that has the potential of becoming a dominant player in the coming years.  It is even feasible that this could become its own entity to unlock shareholder value down the road, although that is far too soon to predict or target.

Outside of almost everyone in the chip equipment sub-sector, the main US chip equipment and cap-ex names to watch for secondary movement are KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC), Novellus (NASDAQ:NVLS), LAM Research (NASDAQ:LRCX), and ASML Holdings NV (NASDAQ:ASML) in Europe.

Jon C. Ogg
August 10, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: August 10, 2007 – 12:36 pm in Earnings, Semiconductor, , , , , ,