Intel Shares Dive on Brokerage Warning
Intel Corp. shares slumped to a new 52-week low Wednesday after brokerage Salomon Smith Barney said the semiconductor giant is on track for its “worst quarter in over a decade,” amid weakening sales.
The stock (INTC) slid $4.25 to $31.75. The price hasn’t been this low since mid-1999 and is down from a 2000 peak of $75.81.
John Joseph, analyst at Salomon Smith Barney, told clients that Intel should post just 2% sales growth this quarter from the third quarter. He estimated sales this quarter will be $8.9 billion.
Earnings will be about 39 cents a share, Joseph estimated. He had previously expected 42 cents.
What’s more, Joseph cut his 2001 earnings estimate to $1.50 a share from $1.55. That would be a 10% drop from the $1.66 he expects Intel to earn this year.
Among other chip stocks on Wednesday, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) lost $1.31 to $14.44; National Semiconductor (NSM) fell $2 to $20; Xilinx (XLNX) lost $3.56 to $40; and PMC-Sierra (PMCS) fell $6.88 to $120.13.
