Toll (TOL) (AEO) (NAV) (AMAT) (THC) (DAN) Price Targets Changed

Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE: TOL), American Eagle (NYSE: AEO), Navistar (NYSE: NAV), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Tenet Healthcare Co. (NYSE: THC) and Dana Holding Co. (NYSE: DAN) had price targets adjusted by analysts.

Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL) had its price target lowered by RBC Capital from $23.00 to $17.00. They have a “Sector Perform” rating on the company.

American Eagle (AEO) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $12.00 to $11.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Navistar (NAV) had its price target lowered by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from $80.00 to $62.50. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $16.00 to $15.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Tenet Healthcare Co. (THC) had its price target lowered by Ticonderoga from $8.00 to $6.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Dana Holding Co. (DAN) had its price target lowered by Deutsche Bank from $22.00 to $20.50. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Aviat (AVNW) (UHS) (AEO) (VHS) (AMAT) (UTHR) Price Targets Changed

Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNW), Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS), American Eagle (NYSE: AEO), Vanguard Health Systems (NYSE: VHS), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) and United Therapeutics (NASDAQ: UTHR) had price targets adjusted by analysts.

American Eagle (AEO) had its price target lowered by Oppenheimer from $19.00 to $14.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Vanguard Health Systems (VHS) had its price target lowered by Ticonderoga from $21.00 to $17.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) had its price target lowered by Needham & Company from $16.00 to $13.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

United Therapeutics (UTHR) had its price target lowered by Oppenheimer from $77.00 to $53.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Aviat Networks, Inc. (AVNW) had its price target lowered by Needham & Company from $5.50 to $4.50. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Universal Health Services (UHS) had its price target lowered by Ticonderoga from $63.00 to $46.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Toll (TOL) (AEO) (UTHR) (AMAT) (SNI) (CVI) (GSM) (PRU) EPS Estimates Changed

Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE: TOL), American Eagle (NYSE: AEO), United Therapeutics (NASDAQ: UTHR), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (NYSE: SNI), CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CVI), Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. (NYSE: GSM) and Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) EPS estimates adjusted by analysts.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) lowered its EPS estimates on Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL). They have a “Hold” rating and a price target of $23.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) lowered its EPS estimates on American Eagle (AEO). They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $17.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs lowered its EPS estimates on United Therapeutics (UTHR). They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $52.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs lowered its EPS estimates on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $10.50 on the company.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) lowered its EPS estimates on Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $44.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) boosted its EPS estimates on CVR Energy, Inc. (CVI). They have an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $38.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse lowered its EPS estimates on Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. (GSM). They have an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $22.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) lowered its EPS estimates on Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU). They have an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $67.00 on the company.

Applied Materials (AMAT) (CVI) (GES) (GSM) (LEN) (PRU) (SNI) (UTHR) Price Targets Changed

Applied Materials (AMAT), CVR Energy (CVI), Guess (GES), Globe Specialty Metals (GSM), Lennar (LEN), Prudential Financial (PRU), Scripps Networks (SNI) and United Therapeutics (UTHR) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Applied Materials (AMAT) had its price target cut by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $10.50. Goldman has a "Neutral" rating on the company.

CVR Energy (CVI) had its price target cut by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) to $38. They boosted its estimates and have an "Outperform" rating on the company.

Guess (GES) had its price target cut by Brean Murray to $44. They also lowered their estimates also cut and have a "Buy" rating on the company.

Globe Specialty Metals (GSM) had its price target cut by Credit to $22. They also cut their estimates and have an "Outperform" rating on the company.

Lennar (LEN) had its price target cut by Keybanc to $23. They also cut their estimates while having a "Buy" rating on the company.

Prudential Financial (PRU) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley to $67. They lowered their Estimates and have an "Overweight" rating on the company.

Scripps Networks (SNI) had its price target cut by UBS (NYSE:UBS) to $44. They lowered their estimates and have a "Neutral" rating on the company.

United Therapeutics (UTHR) had its price target cut by Goldman Sachs to $52. They cut their estimates and have a "Buy" rating on the company.

Taleo (TLEO) (AKAM) (MSFT) (AMAT) (RCII) (ARUN) Price Targets Changed

Taleo Corp. (NASDAQ: TLEO), Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Rent-A-Center, Inc (NASDAQ: RCII) and Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) had price targets adjusted by analysts.

Taleo Corp. (TLEO) had its price target lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $42.00 to $35.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Akamai Technologies (AKAM) had its price target lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $36.00 to $32.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) had its price target lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $37.00 to $32.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) had its price target lowered by RBC Capital from $14.00 to $12.00. They have a “Sector Perform” rating on the company.

Rent-A-Center, Inc. (RCII) had its price target lowered by Northland Securities from $37.00 to $31.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Aruba Networks, Inc. (ARUN) had its price target lowered by RBC Capital from $36.00 to $25.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Yamana (AUY) (TNP) (A) (MASI) (AMAT) (BAX) Price Targets Changed

Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY), Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE: TNP), Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), Masimo Corporation (NASDAQ: MASI), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) and Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Tsakos Energy Navigation (TNP) had its price target lowered by FBR Capital from $15.00 to $10.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) had its price target lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $59.00 to $50.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Masimo Corp. (MASI) had its price target lowered by Morgan Keegan from $33.00 to $31.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) had its price target lowered by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from $17.00 to $14.00.

Yamana Gold (AUY) had its price target raised by Davenport from $15.00 to $19.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Baxter International Inc. (BAX) had its price target lowered by Morgan Keegan from $70.00 to $67.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Sara Lee (SLE) (ADI) (PPS) (AMAT) (PLAB) (CHD) Price Targets Changed

Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE), Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), Post Properties, Inc. (NYSE: PPS), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAB) and Church & Dwight Co Inc (NYSE: CHD) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Sara Lee (SLE) had its price target lowered by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $19.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) had its price target lowered by Citigroup (NYSE:C) to $43.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Post Properties, Inc. (PPS) had its price target raised by RBC Capital from $44.00 to $49.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) to $12.50. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Photronics, Inc. (PLAB) had its price target lowered by Needham & Company from $13.00 to $11.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD) had its price target raised by

William Blair from $42.50 to $45.50. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Veeco (VECO) (ADLR) (AIXG) (AMAT) (DG) (KLAC) Get New Coverage

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO), Adolor (NASDAQ: ADLR), Aixtron AG (NASDAQ: AIXG), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Dollar General (NYSE: DG) and KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) getting new coverage from analysts.

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Veeco Instruments Inc. (VECO). They placed a “Perform” rating and a price target of $45.00 on the company.

William Blair initiated coverage on Adolor (ADLR). They placed an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Aixtron AG (AIXG). They placed a “Perform” rating and a price target of $32.00 on the company.

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT). They placed a “Perform” rating and a price target of $15.00 on the company.

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Dollar General (DG). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $40.00 on the company.

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on KLA-Tencor (KLAC). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $50.00 on the company.

Chevron (CVX) (AAPL) (AMAT) (ABT) (TK) EPS Estimates Changed

Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Apple, Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) and Teekay Co. (NYSE: TK) EPS estimates adjusted by analysts.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) boosted its EPS estimate on Chevron (CVX). They have a "Buy" rating on the energy giant and a price target of $127.00 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) cut their EPS estimate on shares of Applied Materials (AMAT). They have a "Neutral" rating on Applied and a price target of $12.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) slashed their EPS estimate on Apple (AAPL). They have an "Outperform" rating on Apple with a price target of $500.00 on the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) lowered their EPS estimate on Teekay Co. (TK). They have a "Buy" rating on Teekay and a price target of $41.00 on the company.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) raised their EPS estimate on Abbott Laboratories (ABT). They have a "Buy" rating on the company and a price target of $59.00 on the company.

Abbott Laboratories closed Tuesday at $53.29, gaining $0.11, or 0.21 percent. Chevron ended the session at $104.39, down $0.02, or 0.02 percent. Applied Materials closed at $12.64, falling $0.34, or 2.62 percent. Apple closed at $353.75, losing $0.25, or 0.07 percent. Teekay closed at $30.27, up $0.04, or 0.13 percent.

Ratings on Oracle (ORCL) (RIG) (MRO) (AMAT) Reiterated

Ratings on shares of Transocean (NYSE: RIG), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE: MRO) and Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) were reiterated by analysts.

Gabelli reiterated a “buy” rating on Transocean (RIG).

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT).

The Benchmark Company reiterated a “sell” rating on Marathon Oil Co. (MRO). They have a price target of $23.00 on the company.

Piper Jaffray reiterated an “overweight” rating on Oracle (ORCL).

Transocean closed Thursday at $62.47, gaining $0.24, or 0.39 percent. Applied Materials ended the session at $13.44, climbing $0.40, or 3.03 percent. Marathon Oil closed at $33.10, jumping $0.29, or 0.88 percent. Oracle closed at $34.09, up $0.88, or 2.65 percent.

Ratings Cuts on Intel (INTC) (KLAC) (AMAT)

The overall semiconductor sector is taking a big hit today, led by the downgrade by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) of Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), and followed up with rating cuts on Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and KLA Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC).

Interestingly, Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) had its rating boosted by Goldman.

Goldman analyst James Covello asserts that processor shipments will drop in 2011, affecting the outlook of Intel. He sees higher inventory which he identifies from cuts in orders at processor packaging companies.

Covello also see much higher input costs than the Street in general is taking into account. Consensus is at about 5 percent while Covello isse 15 percent being a more realistic number.

Citing 2005 as a model, Covello noted that when capex was up then, the following year selling prices dropped by 11 percent. He believes that will probably happen again in 2012 after heavy spending by Intel.

As for Intel's tablet challenge, he said this:

"Our estimate that Apple has a $60 to $70 cost of materials advantage over competitors given its scale in purchasing commodities such as NAND flash, and Apple’s large installed base of users of its apps store and iTunes, which in conjunction with its cost advantage allows Apple to price tablets aggressively and monetize the device through content sales."

In other words, Apple will own tablets for some time.

For makers of chip equipment, they are expected to slow down in order over the next year-and-a-half. Covello has an overall "Cautious" on the sector after downgrading it to a "Neutral" in the early part of 2011.

He concluded that “the cost to build more wafers is irrelevant for wafers that are not built because customers already have too much capacity.”

Covello lowered his rating on Applied Materials from "Buy" to "Neutral," and for KLAC from "Neutral" to "Sell."

His reason for upgrading Lam from a "Neutral" to "Buy" was because it receives 85 percent of its business from memory chip foundries at any time, which is projected to rise 10 percent over the next year. Lam also doesn't have as much exposure to Intel as Applied and KLA has.

Intel was trading at $23.46, falling $0.42, or 1.76 percent, as of 1:38 PM EDT. Applied Materials was at $14.27, down $0.23, or 1.59 percent. KLA-Tencor Corporation was trading at $41.08, dropping $1.75, or 4.09 percent. Lam Research was at $46.66, down $0.52, or 1.10 percent.

Ratings on (AGL) (AMAT) (CTRN) (DE) (EDMC) Downgraded

Ratings on shares of AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE: AGL), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Citi Trends Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN), Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) and Education Management Corp (NASDAQ: EDMC) were downgraded by analysts.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) downgraded AGL Resources Inc. (AGL) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating. They have a price target of $42.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) downgraded shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) to a “neutral” rating.

Longbow Research downgraded Citi Trends Inc. (CTRN) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) downgraded Deere & Company (DE) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They have a price target of $92.00 on the company, down from $110.00.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) downgraded Education Management Corp (EDMC) from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating. They have a $16.00 price target on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind their call.

Chips (MU) (INTC) (BRCM) (TSM) (XLNX) Under Pressure

Citing growing chip inventories, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) says after supply checks it appears the chip sector and companies like Micron (NASDAQ:MU), Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM), Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX), Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) are under pressure as chip demand falls.

Goldman noted that Taiwan Semiconductor and China-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) have seen declining demand since the latter part of February.

The rise in chip inventories seems to be be largely across the industry, according to Goldman, and not company-specific events.

Xilinx (XLNX) was trading at $35.48, falling $0.25, or 0.70 percent. Broadcom (BRCM) was at $33.94, down $0.20, or 0.59 percent. Intel (INTC) was at $22.85, dropping $0.40, or 1.70 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) was trading at $13.70, down $0.05, or 0.36 percent. Micron (NASDAQ:MU) was at $10.49, declining $0.38, or 3.50 percent.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Applied Micro (NASDAQ:AMCC) went against the grain today, as they're both trading in positive territory as of 2:19 PM EDT.

6 Winners (VSEA) (ADGF) (SGI) (ZSTN) (GMCR) (WOLF) on May 4

The major winners on May 4 were led Varian Semiconductor Equipment (NASDAQ:VSEA), which closed the trading session at $61.36, soaring $20.81, or 51.32 percent. Varian jumped on the news they were going to be acquired by Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) for $4.9 billion.

Next was Adams Golf, Inc.(NASDAQ:ADGF), which ended the day at $7.41, climbing $2.41, or 48.20 percent. The market was responding to record sales in its latest quarter.

Third best performer on May 4 was Silicon Graphics International (NASDAQ:SGI), closing at $20.49, rising $4.01, or 24.33 percent. Beating revenue and earnings estimates for their latest quarter was the catalyst.

Following SGI was ZST Digital Networks, Inc.(NASDAQ:ZSTN), which jumped to $3.47, soaring $0.58, or 20.57 percent. Answering shareholder questions appears to be the catalyst.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) also skyrocketed, closing at $75.98, up $11.91, or 18.59 percent. The catalyst was strong guidance from the company.

Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:WOLF) was the sixth-best performer, ending the day at $2.71, gaining $0.41, or 17.83 percent. An improved bottom line was the impetus for Great Wolf.

Price Targets on (AKAM) (AMAT) (AN) (AON) (BHI) Updated by Analysts

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Autonation Inc. (NYSE: AN), Aon Co. (NYSE: AON) and Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) get price targets Updated today by analysts.

Collins Stewart cut their price target on Akamai Technologies (AKAM) from $51.00 to $45.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJF) cut their price target on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) from $22.00 to $18.00. They have an “overweight” rating on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) raised their price target on Autonation Inc. (AN) from $29.00 to $33.00. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

RBC Capital raised their price target on Aon Co. (AON) from $47.00 to $54.00. They have a “sector perform” rating on the company.

Dahlman Rose raised their price target on Baker Hughes (BHI) from $81.00 to $95.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Ratings on (AMAT) (CRI) (CW) (ERTS) (FMS) Downgraded

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE: CRI), Curtiss-Wright (NYSE: CW), Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Fresenius Medical (NYSE: FMS) get ratings downgrades.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) downgraded Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating. They have a price target of $14.00 on the company, down from $16.00.

BMO Capital Markets downgraded Carter’s, Inc. (CRI) from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating. They have a $25.00 price target on the company.

Wedbush downgraded Curtiss-Wright (CW) from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating. They have a price target of $36.00 on the company.

Kaufman Brothers downgraded Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They have a price target of $20.00 on the company.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) downgraded Fresenius Medical (FMS) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Dividend Yields for (XLNX) (AMAT) (NSM) (TXN) (ALTR)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies Xilinx Inc (XLNX), Applied Materials Inc (AMAT), National Semiconductor Corp (NSM), Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) and Altera Corp (ALTR) .

These dividend data indicate dividend yields of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index as of Saturday, April 30. The yield is determined by taking the latest declared dividend, annualized and divided by the price of the stock. Payout ratios are calculated based on latest quarterly dividend paid divided by earnings.

Xilinx Inc (XLNX) has a dividend yield of 2.18 percent on a declared dividend of $0.19. The payout ratio is 26.4 percent.

Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) has a dividend yield of 2.04 percent on a declared dividend of $0.08. The payout ratio is 18.2 percent.

National Semiconductor Corp (NSM) has a dividend yield of 3.36 percent on a declared dividend of $0.10. The payout ratio is 40.7 percent.

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) has a dividend yield of 1.46 percent on a declared dividend of $0.13. The payout ratio is 22.8 percent.

Altera Corp (ALTR) has a dividend yield of 0.49 percent on a declared dividend of $0.06. The payout ratio is 8.6 percent.

Earthquake Rattles (LRCX) (KLAC) (AMAT) (VSEA)

Shares of Lam Research Corp. (LRCX), KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC), Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT), and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. (VSEA) are all under heavy pressure today from the effects of the response to another earthquake in Japan.

This time it was a magnitude-7.4 earthquake, which also had a tsunami warning included with it. It was in the area that experienced the carnage from the 8.9 earthquake on March 11.

The broader market and other tech companies did reverse direction on the day after the news came out that there was another earthquake, dropping, while others somewhat shrugged off the news.

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. was trading at $46.88, falling $1.91, or 3.91 percent, as of 12:42 PM EDT. Applied Materials Inc. was trading at $15.52, down $0.23, or 1.46 percent. KLA-Tencor Corp. was at $44.49, dropping $1.68, or 3.64 percent. Lam Research Corp. was at $53.95, down $2.37, or 4.21 percent.

Semis (INTC) (NVDA) (LRCX) (AMAT) (AMD) (MU) (CRUS) Crunched on Rising Japan Fears

Fears a shortage of chips could dramatically have an negative effect on the semiconductor sector had shares of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS), Nvidia (NASDAQ:INTC), Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX), Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), Micron ((NASDAQ:MU) and AMD (NYSE:AMD) all end down on Monday, and they should remain under pressure for some time because of the uncertainty surrounding supply.

Research firm Gartner noted, “Clearly, there are some material supply challenges ahead of the industry in the aftermath of the tragic events in Japan.”

With the Semiconductor Industry Association reported a drop in worldwide chip sales in February compared with the January, there's a question as to whether or not Japan is the only reason for the slowdown, although February is a short month, which may be a contributing factor.

Intel closed Monday at $19.49, dropping $0.23, or 1.17 percent. Applied Materials closed at $15.40, falling $15.40, losing $0.13, or 0.84 percent. Micron closed at $11.19, down $0.11, or 0.97 percent. Applied Micro Devices ended the session at $15.40, losing 0.13, or 0.84 percent. Lam Research closed at $54.90, dropping $1.41, or 2.50 percent. Cirrus Logic fell to $19.65, down $0.69, or 3.39 percent. Nvidia closed down at $17.55, losing 0.65, or 3.57 percent.

Chips Pushing Novellus (NVLS), (NETL) (ALTR), (AMSL), (ADI), (LRCX) toward New Highs

Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR), ASML (NASDAQ:AMSL), Analog Devices (NYSE:ADI), Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX), NetLogic (NASDAQ:NETL) and Novellus (NASDAQ:NVLS) are all being pushed towards new highs, as VCs pour money into social networks, mobile connectivity, the Cloud and energy efficiency, demand for chips old and new is back, leading the electronic components and capital equipment sectors to a strong growth path. They were already turning back to the plus column last fall as a mild inventory adjustment was quickly bracketed.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) just concluded its annual analyst meeting in New York ringing a bullish note for the next several years’ outlook for highly sophisticated, ultra complex machines sold to Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Samsung, TSMC and other global chipmakers. Echoing ASML CEO Eric Meurice’s remarks three weeks ago, Applied’s head said rising chip complexity, raw unit demand and a decade of underinvestment meant an above trend outlook for his company this year and next. After years of underperforming, such public confidence suggests something big is on the way at the world’s largest semiconductor equipment supplier.

Long lagging Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) just reported a couple of pennies in profit in its typically seasonally weak second fiscal quarter, notable because it’s the first time since the company’s magnificent 1990s run that it hasn’t lost money in the trough of the highly volatile dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) pricing cycle and also because it is now positioned to cash in on booming NAND Flash demand. The opposite of Wall Street’s purported glut, Apple’s iPad (NASDAQ:AAPL) refresh is elevating this newly ubiquitous form factor to Olympian proportion, drawing millions of new users into its Smartphone and PC ecosystems at the same time AT&T upgrades its network through a wireless carrier megadeal. Memory chips are one of the key winners.




Source