LSI Shares Slide Ahead Of Earnings As Merrill Downgrades
LSI (LSI) shares are lower today after Merrill Lynch analyst Mark Heller cut his rating on the stock to Neutral from Buy. In making the call, Heller pointed to last night’s earnings news from Seagate (STX), which accounts for 20% of LSI’s revenue. He notes that Seagate’s sales were light, while inventory jumped 30%. (For the reasons why, see the post on my interview with Seagate CEO Bill Watkins.)
Heller also contends that LSI is likely to lose some market share at Seagate to Marvell (MRVL) in enterprise controllers, a factor that “will be a drag on revenues for the next several quarters.”
Heller says he now sees “limited upside to the stock.”
LSI today is down 37 cents, or 6.9%, at $5.
How one analyst can influence stock prices always amazes me. It’s like the one analyst who downgraded IGT. Rediculous!!

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written from Palo Alto, California by long-time Barron's West Coast Editor Eric J. Savitz. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields.