J.P. Morgan analyst Christopher Danely this morning reduced his rating on RF Micro Devices (RFMD) to Underweight from Neutral, “based on weakness in handset demand negatively impacting the company’s earnings.”
Danely writes that he is becoming more cautious on semiconductor stocks generally, “as the deteriorating situation in Europe is resulting in softening PC and handset demand along with declining lead times and the first push-outs of components.”
He notes that Nokia on June 15 lowered guidance, and adds that “checks indicate the company has recently pushed out orders at several component vendors. He notes that Nokia is RFMD’s largest customer, accounting for about half of its March sales.
Danely notes that his colleagues who cover Samsung and LG believe both companies will miss their June quarter handset guidance on slowing sales in Europe.
The analyst cut his EPS forecast for the March 2011 fiscal year to 39 cents, from 42 cents; he also cut FY 2012 to 39 cents, from 42 cents.
RFMD today is unchanged at $4.01.
No comments:
Post a Comment