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Ahead of the Bell: Applied Materials shares climb
Applied Materials shares climb after 3rd-quarter results top Wall Street estimates
On Wednesday August 12, 2009, 8:25 am EDT
Buzz up! 0 Print.Companies:Applied Materials Inc.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Applied Materials Inc. got a lift ahead of regular trading Wednesday after fiscal third-quarter results topped Wall Street forecasts.

The company, which makes equipment for manufacturing semiconductors, saw its stock rise 31 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $13.53 premarket.

Late Tuesday, Applied Materials said it lost $54.9 million, or 4 cents per share, reversing a year-earlier profit. Excluding items, the loss amounted to $2 million, or break even on a per-share basis.

Sales fell to $1.13 billion from $1.85 billion.

But cost cutting helped the company pull ahead of expectations. Analysts predicted an adjusted loss of 8 cents per share on revenue of $958 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

Despite the results, Deutsche Bank analyst Steve O'Rourke sounded a cautious note, pointing out uncertainty over sales "as customer investments are very sensitive to near term demand."

He kept his "Hold" rating on shares in a note to clients, saying Applied Material's "very effective operational management will serve the company well; our concern is one of a more muted overall business outlook through 2010."