Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Whoa: Raymond James Cuts Intel Rating; Fears 'Margin Nightmare' (INTC)

Quite a headline and quite a first sentence:
Well, this sounds alarming.

Raymond James analyst Hans Mosesmann this morning cut his rating on Intel shares to Underperform from Market Perform, citing concerns that the company could be headed for what he calls “a potential gross margin nightmare.”

Mosesmann contends that the 62%-65% gross margins the company has enjoyed over the last three years were the exception to the rule. During that time period, he points out, Intel gained share from AMD in both PCs and servers, and benefited from the Windows 7 upgrade cycle....MORE
The writer is Eric Savitz who has been covering Silicon Valley, first for Barron's, now for Forbes, forever, and who I don't recall ever getting alarmed. The stock is off a dime at $19.87.