| Shares of NetLogic Microsystems Inc., a designer of processors used in networking systems, plummeted in afternoon trading on Thursday after the company posted a 5 percent drop in third-quarter profit, and issued a disappointing fourth-quarter outlook. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the company on Wednesday reported a profit of $3.4 million, or 16 cents per share, down from $3.6 million, or 19 cents per share, last year, even as revenue climbed up 3 percent to $26.6 million. Jeffries & Co. analyst Adam Benjamin, who has a "Buy" rating on the stock, cut his 2007 earnings estimate to $1.01 per share, from $1.46 per share, and lowered revenue guidance for the year to $102 million from $131 million. Analysts currently expect the company, on average, to post 2007 earnings of $1.47 per share on $129.5 million in sales. Caris & Co. analyst Nicholas Aberle, cut his rating on the stock to "Above Average" from "Buy" and said an inventory correction, as well as the delayed release of a new product, may weigh on the company over the near-term. "(A) U.S. inventory correction and fading Asia demand (may) materially impact fourth-quarter results," Aberle wrote in a note to investors. "NetLogic provided December quarter guidance which was much softer than expected, with revenues expected to fall roughly 13 percent quarter-over-quarter to $23 million, thereby driving earnings per share down to 24 cents per share." Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect the company to post, on average, earnings of 35 cents per share on $28.2 million in sales. Shares of NetLogic, which have traded between $18.69 and $45.03 over the last year, were down $5.37, or 22 percent, at $19.11 in afternoon trading. Earlier in the session shares set a new 52-week low of $18.66 on the Nasdaq. |
