Submitted by Fox First at Ten on October 8th
NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of chip-maker Intersil Corp. fell Monday after a JPMorgan analyst downgraded the stock, saying the company is losing market share and the PC market remains weak.
THE SPARK: Analyst Christopher Danely lowered his rating to "Underweight" from "Neutral" and pared his price target to $5 per share from $8. Danely said Intersil's share of the market for power management products in PCs has decreased, and so has its profitability. He added that the PC market itself is slumping because of the sluggish global economy and increasing sales of tablet computers.
THE BIG PICTURE: The Milpitas, Calif., company lost money in the first and second quarters of 2012, and its revenue declined 22 percent from the first half of 2011. The company also expects revenue to decline and adjusted profit to shrink in the third quarter. Its forecast for the September quarter had fallen short of analyst expectations.
SHARE ACTION: Intersil's shares lost 74 cents, or 9.1 percent, to $7.37 in late afternoon trading. Shares have lost 30 percent this year, and on Monday dropped as low as $7.31, the weakest point since December 2008.
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