ATI downgraded after Nvidia report
 

By Brendan January, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:25 PM ET Aug 6, 2004

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- ATI Technologies fell 8.3 percent to $14.60 after Wedbush Morgan downgraded the stock and fellow chip maker Nvidia issued a warning that its second-quarter results would miss expectations.

Wedbush Morgan analyst David Wu cut his rating for ATI (ATYT) to "hold" from "buy" because fourth quarter earnings are likely to disappoint and that competition will be worse than expected.

Wu said the Markham, Ontario, graphics-chip maker faced the same challenges that recently plagued Nvidia (NVDA).

"The price war in mainstream discrete desktops that was so devastating to Nvidia's Q2 FY05 will also have a measurable impact on ATYT's Q4 FY04," said Wu.

ATI holds a 73 percent market share in discrete notebook graphics, but Nvidia is mounting a serious challenge in this segment, said Wu, leading him to see a more competitive environment and lower earnings for ATI in 2005.

The competition is also fierce in the relatively healthy consumer PC and gaming market, said Wu, showing a "volatility of results that have been vividly demonstrated most recently by Nvidia's quarter."

Wu lowered his 2004 earnings estimate for ATI to 75 cents per share and his 2005 estimate to 95 cents per share.

Wu also cut his rating of Nvidia to "hold" from "buy."

Nvidia shares plunged as much as 30 percent late Thursday after the graphics-chip maker missed its second-quarter targets by a wide margin.

http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom...ines.asp?GUID={719B7C71-BD06-4D59-B17B-51F5D4450710}&destination=&symb=ATYT

I'd wish the price war with OEM will trigger down to the enthusiasts market./;)

But. history tells me that a guy with a Master Degree in Business is not necessarily "street smart".:D