SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

   Technology StocksVarian Semiconductor Equipment Associates -- VSEA


Previous 10 
From: etchmeister5/4/2011 11:04:01 AM
   of 1929
 
My second ETEC -
great company - Implant is THE key for improving solar efficiency.
And how secret they kept it - AMAT is hardly down - what the heck TEL should buy NVLS - those nutcase are plumb stupid trashing the stock

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


To: robert b furman who wrote (1921)5/4/2011 11:35:15 AM
From: etchmeister
   of 1929
 
Goldman had probably insider knowledge - they should investigate - they made a killing.
This timing stinks - that was insider info leaked out!
GS told couple months ago to buy options
Varian Semiconductor calls buck slump
optionmonster

*
Companies:
o Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc.

Related Quotes
Symbol Price Change
VSEA 61.30 +20.75
Chart for Varian Semiconductor Equipment
{"s" : "vsea","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""}
Mike Yamamoto (mike.yamamoto@optionmonster.com), On Thursday April 14, 2011, 3:08 am EDT

Traders are looking for a sharp rise in Varian Semiconductor Equipment despite the recent slump in the chip sector .

optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker system shows that 3,126 May 55 calls traded against open interest of just 372 at the strike, so these were new opening positions. The options changed hands with a strong buying bias, going for prices between $0.20 and $0.40.


The activity dwarfed VSEA's average total volume of 500 per day. Its calls outnumbered puts at all strikes by 7 to 1.

VSEA fell 0.68 percent yesterday to close at $43.87, continuing its steep decline since trading over $49 just one week ago. Shares of the chip-making equipment company had been climbing steadily from its 52-week low of $24.40 at the end of August last year but began a roller-coast ride after peaking over $50 on Feb. 18.

Earlier this week Barclays repeated that Varian is one of its " top picks " in a research note that cited strength in flash memory and increased capital spending by Intel and other chip makers. The bank maintains an "overweight" rating on the stock.

Traders may also expect VSEA to bounce off support around the $41 level, which it has done twice this year. The company is scheduled to release its next earnings report after the market closes on April 28.

For the calls bought yesterday to turn a profit, Varian's stock needs to gain at least 26 percent in the next month before the contracts expire.s

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last ReadRead Replies (1)


To: etchmeister who wrote (1926)5/4/2011 11:40:59 AM
From: robert b furman
   of 1929
 
It ought to be illegal !

In fact it is ,but no one follows up.

The SEC = government waste!!

Bob

I guess your take on ion beam enhancing solar productivity makes a perfect marriage for Amat and Vsea?

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


From: etchmeister5/5/2011 10:51:56 PM
   of 1929
 
The end
ride the snake ... the snake is long...seven miles...Weird scenes inside the gold mine ...
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest

in case you followed this board than there should be no surprise; post by post it (accurately) described Varian's progress - $63 is OK - not great.

youtube.com

Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read


From: etchmeister9/7/2011 11:30:29 AM
   of 1929
 




Username Password Remember me Forgot password? | It's FREE!


Online information source for semiconductor professionals
News Feeds | Newsletter | Journal | Advertise | About Us | Contact Us | Subscriptions







This Site Engineering Web




Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Reports: END OF AN ERA
28 July 2011 | By Mark Osborne | Editor's Blog

Popular articles TSMC hosts 2008 Green Forum on ‘green’ factories - 31 October 2008 Oberai discusses Magma’s move into solar PV yield management space - 29 August 2008 Sematech Litho Forum: Sematech mulling multi-beam mask writer effort - 12 May 2010 Samsung and Micron gain most market share in DRAM crisis - 17 February 2009 TSMC honors suppliers at annual Supply Chain Management Forum - 03 December 2008
There will be no further quarterly conference calls from VSEA, and that includes for the benefit of myself and anyone else that is interested in the ion implant space - to compare and contrast the niche but fascinating area of this semiconductor technology.

Though VSEA have released a short two paragraph press release, notifying us of its Q3FY results, which are not that shorter than normal, it’s the fact that the company had previously announced that there wouldn’t be a conference call to discuss such results that means it is an end to an era.

In the bad old days it was a case of staying in the office and listening-in on the telephone to hear about market share gains, new product introductions and much more!

Foundry updates on qualifying implanters for amazing nodes such as 180nm and potential ramps a good year ahead of any official announcements were priceless and over more than a decade, by then on webcasts, the list of insights went on and on.

When Applied Materials announced they were closing their implant division, those that listened to VSEA’s calls, almost on a par with going to church, already new that such an announcement was on the cards, so no surprises there!

Just my coverage of VSEA (and before they became VSEA) brought me in direct contact with companies such as ATMI.

Like the world of lithography, it’s a niche with very long arms and as many people that know me, it’s the different rather than the mainstream that often floats my boat.

Talking of boats, I once had the privilege of attending a VSEA party on a boat in the SF bay during SEMICON West - good old days. There, I had the opportunity to meet many people from the company and some of their suppliers and just as important, some of their customers.

One of those customers was Intel Corp.

Of course that in itself isn’t special but I met someone involved in implant from Intel for the very first time. That aspect was special, because if I recall correctly I spent the next 7-8 years talking to that person over the phone.

In a later year I sneaked into VSEA’s customer seminar day, held in downtown SF during SEMICON West and listened to said Intel guru’s presentation. That was a long time ago but it’s still in the memory bank.

Much more recently, as in 2010, I finally met Bob Halliday, chief financial officer of VSEA for the first time. Interestingly, this was not at a semiconductor event but a photovoltaics event called EU PVSEC.

In the last few years, VSEA have been developing an implant tool for solar cell applications and as we just happen to have the leading website and technical publication in that area, they were keen to meet. All good stuff.

A funny thing during this time was that VSEA had made the rare public announcement of a new product, dubbed Solion.

They had talked in conference calls for nearly 2-years before about new markets, yet in typical uber-minimalist language had tried to keep the lid on this, in such public formats.

Of course, little by little we all got a better understanding of what they were doing but it was always on their terms and like extracting blood from a stone. Great stuff.

Then when the PV specific tool was announced the info was actually less than you could have compiled from the quarterly calls. Brilliant!

Not wanting to waste a minute of my time, I wrote a product review based on the total lack of info in the press release but added in snippets from their patents related to the PV-based tool.

Job done!

Well, I thought so from the position of posting a product review within half an hour of the press announcement . VSEA must have spent weeks - if not months structuring a very rare product release, intended to say - absolutely NOTHING.

Classic VSEA.

The very next day a posting on the website - regarding my review - said that I had no understanding of this technology and suggested I seek alternative employment!

The kind person, left a return email address and I duly responded in a very professional way. Regrettably, the email address was bogus.

What I remember of that email exchange was my comment that the poster obviously hadn’t looked at VSEA’s rare product press release and total lack of info and compared that to my interpretation with added insight, that was significantly longer…LOL.

Anyway, it’s an end of an era, not just for me, not just for implanter fans and not just financial analyst, its probably the end to listening to the only CFO I can recall that knows more about a technology and the business that surrounds it than anyone else I have listened to on a conference call over the last three decades.

Bob Halliday we salute you.



Share RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read
Previous 10