Lam Research ( NASDAQ: LRCX ), Camtek ( NASDAQ: CAMT ) and Ouster ( NYSE: OUST ) fell on Monday as investment firm Barclays downgraded the semiconductor companies, noting concerns over weakness in the industry, including wafer fab equipment sales.
Analyst Blayne Curtis lowered his rating on Lam Research ( LRCX ), Camtek ( CAMT ) and Ouster ( OUST ) to equal weight from overweight, noting that there could be " additional 30-40% downside to earnings" because of weakness in the memory market, with Lam's earnings per share "ultimately bottoming" between $25 and $30 per share.
"We don’t see compelling upside when applying a normalized historical multiple on ~$30 of EPS, which assumes $80-90B [wafer fab equipment] and consistent market share," Curtis wrote in a note to clients.
Lam Research ( LRCX ) shares fell nearly 1.5% to $457.11 in premarket trading, while Camtek ( CAMT ) and Ouster ( OUST ) fell around 1%.
Curtis noted that Israeli-based Camtek ( CAMT ) is "not immune" to worries in the wafer fab equipment market, as its order growth has decelerated since the start of the start of the year and customers will likely "step out of line" when demand weakens.
Ouster ( OUST ), which makes products for LiDAR, is seen as a "speculative name" that could have a hard time in. correction.
Last week, Bank of America said Lam Research ( LRCX ) and several other semiconductor companies could benefit if the U.S. government passes stimulus for the industry .
Analysts have been mixed on Lam Research ( LRCX ). It had an average rating of HOLD from Seeking Alpha authors , while Wall Street analysts rate it a BUY . Conversely, Seeking Alpha's quant system, which consistently beats the market, rates LRCX a BUY .
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Lam Research, Camtek, Ouster fall as Barclays downgrades on worries over semi downturn