Semiconductor Analyst Leaves Merrill Lynch

Merrill Lynch & Co., the largest U.S. brokerage firm, said Friday that influential semiconductor analyst Tom Kurlak resigned to join the Tiger Management hedge fund after a year of wrong-way forecasts on the chip industry.

“For 20 years, I have been dispensing advice,” Kurlak said. “Now, I look forward to begin to implement it with this new opportunity.”

Kurlak, who attracted a following among investors because of his accurate predictions of semiconductor sales, will become managing director of Tiger’s technology investments at the end of the month. Kurlak correctly forecast declines in the semiconductor industry in 1997 and 1998.

In August, however, he lowered his rating on No. 1 chip maker Intel Corp.’s shares to “long-term neutral” and the stock climbed about 45%. In November, he said Advanced Micro Devices Inc. would benefit from higher demand for low-priced computer chips, but the company last week warned that profit will be less than analyst estimates.

“He was a legend in the industry--though recently he lost his edge,” said analyst Claude Hazan of C.E. Unterberg Towbin.