By Benjamin Pimentel
Shares of Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) rose more than 3% Thursday
after the semiconductor equipment maker reported a higher quarterly
profit.
Lam Research was up 3.5%, a day after the Fremont, Calif.-based
company reported financials that exceeded Wall Street's
estimates.
Lam's gains stood out, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index
(SOX) recently fell 0.4%.
Caris & Co. analyst Ben Pang upgraded the company's stock to
above average from average, saying in a note that the company "beat
estimates and delivered blockbuster guidance."
"Guidance significantly above consensus and visibility
extending," Pang added. "Lam Research guided fiscal second quarter
2010 revenues of $440 million to $460 million, higher than the $337
million consensus. We had been expecting strong guidance, but the
magnitude was much higher than expected."
Lam Research reported a profit of $16.8 million, or 13 cents a
share, for its quarter ended Sept. 27, compared with a profit of
$8.9 million, or 7 cents a share, for the year-earlier period.
Revenue was $318.55 million, down from $440.4 million, for the
same period last year. Analysts had expected the Fremont,
Calif.-based chip tools maker to report a loss of 8 cents a share,
on revenue of $289.8 million, according to a consensus survey by
FactSet Research.
Needham analyst Edwin Mok also noted that the company "sees
above average growth in the near term driven by stronger rebound of
memory spending and share gains."
But he also said in a note, "The company sounded more cautious
on the first half of 2010, stating that it believes the industry
will only see modest growth from the second half of 2009
levels."
- Benjamin Pimentel; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com