Goodfella does it again. Semis warn Some of his shorts are down over 50% since he recomended short selling the sector just over 2 weeks ago. Stunning call.
SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) - Shares in US semiconductor companies were lower, led
by Micron Technology Inc, on the back of disappointing global semiconductor
sales for November, dealers said.
At 12.58 pm in New York, Micron slumped 56 cents or 5.44 pct to 9.74, Intel
Corp dropped 54 cents or 3.26 pct to 15.87 and Advanced Micro Devices Inc fell
14 cents or 2.20 pct to 6.21. National Semiconductor Inc traded 40 cents or 2.63
pct lower at 14.80 while Texas Instruments Inc fell 29 cents or 1.90 pct to
15.0.
The sector was the weakest performer, as the Philadelphia semiconductor
(Sox) index fell 8.24 points or 2.78 pct to 288.25 and the Goldman Sachs
semiconductor index dropped 3.88 points or 2.72 pct to 138.78 as the Nasdaq
Composite slumped 15.48 points or 1.15 pct to 1,332.83.
In November, global chip sales rose 1.3 pct to 12.68 bln usd from October
and increased 19.6 pct from a year earlier, according to the Semiconductor
Industry Association.
While on first look it was encouraging that sales showed some sequential
growth, analysts then cautioned that the rate of growth has slowed for three
consecutive months.
James Volk, managing director of equity trading at DA Davidson, said
investors were concerned that sales peaked in September when sales rose 3.0 pct
to 12.29 bln usd from August.
In October, the rate of growth deteriorated to a 1.8 pct rise to 12.5 bln
usd.
UBS Warburg analyst Thomas Thornhill said he anticipates a sequential rise
in shipments in December, as has been the case for the past ten years.
He forecast semiconductor sales will increase 5-8 pct to 12.5-12.9 bln usd
on the back of slightly higher average selling prices (ASPs) which will offset
lower unit shipments.
According to the data released this morning, chip sales were strongest in
Europe, rising 5.8 pct in November and 1.3 pct in Asia Pacific. Semiconductor
sales in the Americas declined slightly by 0.8 pct and 0.6 pct in Japan.
josephine.mason@afxnews.com
jcm/djp
