KLA-Tencor Corporation (KLAC)

[buhg1b]

KLA-Tencor Shares Rise After Upgrade
Thursday March 27, 4:44 pm ET
KLA-Tencor Shares Climb After Analyst Upgrades Company and Sector on Stock Correction

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of KLA-Tencor are up modestly in afternoon trading after a Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst upgraded the maker of semiconductor testing equipment.

Friedman's Mehdi Hosseini upgraded the San Jose, Calif.-based company to "Outperform" from "Market Perform," along with several other companies in the sector. He lifted his view of the semiconductor capital equipment sector to "Overweight."

"Following a 30 percent correction in stocks in the coverage universe since our early October downgrade, we now have incremental confidence to conclude that most of the 'bad' news is already in stocks and that fundamentals should start to improve by the fourth quarter of 2008," he wrote in a note to clients.

He added that investors should begin buying shares of select companies in the sector, and said he would consider any pullback in share price as a buying opportunity.

KLA-Tencor stock advanced 13 cents to finish at $37.13.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080327/kla_tencor_mover.html?.v=3