Cree (CREE) Pulls Down (LEDS) (VECO) (AIXG) on Warning

The LED sector is getting crushed today on the warning from Cree Inc. (Nasdaq:CREE) that demand was weak and it's taking longer than expected to work through its inventory.

Plunging along with Cree today are Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq:VECO), SemiLEDs Corporation (Nasdaq:LEDS) and Aixtron AG (Nasdaq:AIXG).

Cree lowered its guidance for the third quarter, citing lower sales of LED chips and LED components.

The company now sees revenue for the quarter in a range of $215 million to $220 million, down from the $245 million to $265 million previously projected and below the Wall Street consensus of $254.8 million.

Chuck Swoboda, Cree’s CEO and chairman said, "The LED components business appears to be turning the corner. Despite the challenges we faced in Q3, distributor sell-through has improved and we target solid growth next quarter. Based on our preliminary outlook for Q4, we are currently targeting revenue to increase 10 to 12% in fiscal Q4 led by growth in LED components."

Cree was trading at $43.16, plunging $5.84, or 11.92 percent, as of 11:49 AM EDT. Veeco was at $47.57, down $1.76, or 3.57 percent. SemiLEDs Corporation was trading at $15.70, falling $0.79, or 4.79 percent. Aixtron AG was at $40.44, declining $1.25, or 3.00 percent.