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From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : 4:36PM Integrated Silicon misses by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS midpoint below, revs in-line (ISSI) 10.67 +0.10 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.21 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.23; revenues fell 1.3% year/year to $62.5 mln vs the $64.38 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.21-0.28, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $63-68 mln vs. $67.40 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "Our revenue in the March quarter reflected normal seasonality combined with softer demand in the communications and consumer markets. This weakness was partially offset by stronger demand in the automotive and the industrial, medical, and military markets."

4:34PM O2Micro's LED invention and voltage detection invention each issued U.S. patent (OIIM) 5.29 +0.23 : Co was issued 18 claims under United States patent number 8,076,867 for its Driving Circuit invention. Co was also issued 18 claims under United States patent number 8,076,959 for its Voltage Detection invention.

4:29PM Mattson beats by $0.03, beats on revs (MTSN) 2.38 -0.07 : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.01 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.04); revenues rose 7.4% year/year to $50.5 mln vs the $46.03 mln consensus. "The first quarter of 2012 was a solid start for Mattson Technology driven by a strong increase in sales. "We approached breakeven for the quarter, and our efforts to improve gross margins and reduce operating expenses are on track to bring the Company into profitability during the year. At the same time that we are improving our financial performance, we also have extended our growth potential."

4:29PM Intersil misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (ISIL) 10.86 +0.18 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.06 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.07; revenues fell 21.6% year/year to $156 mln vs the $156.64 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.08-$0.11 vs. $0.12 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $162-$170 mln vs. $169.07 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:26PM Xilinx beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs above consensus (XLNX) 34.78 +0.78 : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.49 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.41; revenues fell 4.9% year/year to $559 mln vs the $532.3 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs up 1-5% sequentially, which equates to approx $564.9-$586.9 mln vs. $555.34 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Gross margin is expected to be approximately 65-66%. Operating expenses are expected to be approximately $220 million, including $2 million of amortization of acquisition-related intangibles.

4:07PM TriQuint Semi reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q2 below consensus (TQNT) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.02 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.02; revenues fell 3.4% year/year to $216.7 mln vs the $214.62 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of ($0.10)-(0.15) vs. $0.06 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $170-185 mln vs. $223.03 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:06PM Cirrus Logic beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs below consensus; expects to transition to a sharply higher level of revenue beginning in the September quarter (CRUS) 22.30 +2.29 : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.36 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.35; revenues rose 21.0% year/year to $110.6 mln vs the $109.98 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $96-106 mln vs. $107.48 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co said Q1 FY13 Gross margin is expected to be between 53 percent and 55 percent,.While the company expects to grow revenue substantially during FY '13, year-over-year revenue in Q1 is currently forecasted to grow approximately 10 percent. Due to the timing of various product introductions later this year, the company expects to transition to a sharply higher level of revenue beginning in the September quarter. In connection with this transition, the company also announced that it has entered into an unsecured, one-year $100 million revolving credit agreement that provides access to additional working capital the company may need in order to support the production ramps of multiple new products this fall.

4:05PM LSI Logic beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (LSI) 8.43 +0.40 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.20 per share, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.14; revenues rose 31.4% year/year to $622 mln vs the $599.82 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.15-0.21 vs. $0.16 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $630-670 mln vs. $619.63 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:04PM Microsemi reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (MSCC) 20.20 +0.63 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.46 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 20.1% year/year to $249.3 mln vs the $248.46 mln consensus. Co issues in-line EPS guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.51-0.55, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.51 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs growth of 3-5% sequentially, which equatues to ~$256.8-261.8 mln vs. $256.62 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

The Fed was in focus this afternoon, but today's advance is really owed to a strong rally by the market's biggest stock, Apple (AAPL 610.00, +49.72).

Shares of AAPL lagged in the prior session because of concerns about a decline in the number of connections its products made to data networks in the last quarter, but those worries were put to rest with the release of financial results that far surpassed what Wall Street had expected. Strength in the stock helped drive the Tech sector to a gain greater than 3%, and helped lead the Tech-Rich Nasdaq to a gain of more than 2%.

Although the advance by AAPL shares helped bring about a strong, broad bid, Telecom stocks had difficulty building on their prior session performance. The sector settled with a gain of just 0.1% after it had advanced almost 3% yesterday.

The Fed was busy at work today. Fed Chairman Bernanke stated during his press conference that the FOMC is prepared to take additional actions, if necessary. That reassured many market participants that further quantitative easing is still a possibility. Stocks traded higher in response to the remark, but they could not hurdle the heights set in the early going.

Bernanke’s comments came shortly after the Fed’s forecast for GDP was released. The Fed now anticipates that real GDP for 2012 will grow at a pace between 2.4% and 2.9%, up from the range of 2.2% to 2.7% that was issued in January. However, the forecast for 2013 now calls for real GDP growth to range from 2.7% to 3.1%, down from the range of 2.8% to 3.2%, while the range for growth in 2014 is expected to range from 3.1% to 3.6%, down from 3.3% to 4.0%. Longer run growth is still expected to range from 2.3% to 2.6%. Inflation estimates for the next couple of years are capped at 2.0%.

Earlier in the day the FOMC indicated in its Policy Statement that inflation has picked up somewhat, but the outlook for inflation over the medium run remains subdued. With that in mind the FOMC kept its fed funds rate at 0.00% to 0.25%, and anticipates exceptionally low levels of the fed funds rate at least through late 2014.

Only little attention was paid to the latest durable goods orders data, which were released ahead of the open. Total durable goods orders dropped in Mach by 4.2%, which is steeper than the 1.7% decline that had been broadly expected. Prior month numbers were revised lower to reflect an increase of 1.9%. Excluding transportation items, durable goods orders declined in March by 1.1%, which comes in stark contrast with the 0.5% increase that had been broadly anticipated. Orders less transportation for the prior month had increased by an upwardly revised 1.9%.

Boeing (BA 77.08, +3.87), Caterpillar (CAT 103.44, -4.96), Credit Suisse (CS 25.19, -1.02), Eli Lilly (LLY 40.80, +0.84), Northrop Grumman (NOC 63.01, +0.28), Sprint Nextel (S 2.43, -0.04), and WellPoint (WLP 70.40, -0.36) were among the more widely held names that were in focus for their latest earnings results. Each exceeded what had been widely expected of it. However, both Delta Air Lines (DAL 10.48, +0.00) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK 46.00, -1.21) came short of the consensus.

Advancing Sectors: Tech +3.2%, Materials +2.3%, Consumer Discretionary +1.7%, Health Care +1.1%, Energy +0.9%, Financials +0.9%, Consumer Staples +0.5%, Utilities +0.5%, Industrials +0.3%, Telecom +0.1%
Declining Sectors: NoneDJ30 +89.16 NASDAQ +68.03 NQ100 +2.7% R2K +1.8% SP400 +1.8% SP500 +18.72 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1846/1.71 bln/671 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2323/822 mln/686

7:34AM Silicon Labs beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides revs in-line (SLAB) 40.36 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.43 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.41; revenues rose 5.1% year/year to $125.7 mln vs the $123.33 mln consensus. The company expects revenue for the second quarter to be up 3-7% sequentially (consensus +3.2%).

7:19AM Corning beats by $0.02, beats on revs (GLW) 13.35 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.30 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.28; revenues fell 0.2% year/year to $1.92 bln vs the $1.87 bln consensus.

Outlook: "After two successive quarters of significant LCD glass price declines, we expect our price declines will be much more moderate this quarter," James B. Flaws, vice chairman and chief financial officer, said. At the same time, Flaws pointed out that LCD glass volumes are expected to be consistent in the company's wholly owned business and up slightly in Samsung Corning Precision this quarter. The company expects stronger LCD glass volume growth later in the year, driven primarily by normal retail seasonality. Telecommunications segment sales are expected to grow in the range of low to mid-teens, driven by continued strong demand worldwide for fiber-to-the-home products, enterprise network solutions, and fiber and cable products.... Fiber-to-the-home demand is expected to remain robust in North America, parts of Europe, and Australia... Specialty Materials segment sales are anticipated to grow in the range of 10% to 15%, driven primarily by the continued demand for Corning Gorilla Glass for the handheld and information technology markets... Environmental Technologies segment sales are expected to be consistent with the first quarter, which was a record in sales and profitability for the business segment. In the Life Sciences segment, Corning forecasts sales to increase in the range of 5% to 10% as the company realizes the full synergies of recent acquisitions.

Dow Corning's equity earnings in the second quarter are expected to improve, driven by volume increases in the silicone and polysilicon markets. Corning's tax rate in the second quarter is expected to be approximately 20%, in line with the first quarter.

Apple (AAPL $612.29 +52.01) reported first quarter earnings of $12.30 per share, $2.26 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $10.04, while revenues rose 58.9% year/year to $39.19 billion versus the $36.76 billion consensus. The company issued downside guidance for the third quarter with EPS of approximately $8.68 versus the $9.95 consensus with revenues of approximately $34 billion versus the $37.42 billion consensus. AAPL typically issues conservative guidance. The company reported 35.1 million iPhones sold in Q2 versus Street estimate of approximately 30.5 mln; 11.8 mln iPads sold in Q2 versus Street est of approximately 12 mln; 4.0 million Macs sold in Q2 versus Street est of approximately 4.5 mln; Q2 gross margins of 47.4% vs Street est of 42.7% and 42% guidance. "The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you're going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver. Our record March quarter results drove $14 billion in cash flow from operations."

Before the close yesterday, Juniper Networks (JNPR $21.22 -0.40) reported first quarter earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.13, while revenues fell 6.3% year/year to $1.03 billion versus the $977.76 million consensus. Non-GAAP operating margin for Q1 was 12.0% compared to 18.6% in 4Q11, and 22.3% in the prior year first quarter. Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.15-0.17, excluding non-recurring items,versus the $0.20 consensus and revenues of $1.03-1.06 billion versus the $1.05 billion consensus. Juniper estimates that its non-GAAP gross margin will be roughly in line compared to Q1. Juniper expects its non-GAAP operating margin for Q2 to be in the range of 12% and 14%. "Looking ahead, we will manage the business assuming the near-term environment requires continued caution." JNPR popped ~10% as upside Q1 results leaked but the stock is now halted and Q2 EPS was below consensus.

12:32 pm Technology sector trading higher today following Apple Earnings

The tech sector is trading higher today, outpacing gains in the broader market. Semiconductors are also showing relative weakness in the tech space, however, with the Philly Semi Index trading 1.4% higher. CRUS (+9.7%) is a notable leader in that chip index, while MU (-1.4%) lags. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 1.0% higher today, while the QQQ is 2.3% higher and the NASDAQ is trading 1.9% higher on the session. Among tech bellwethers, AAPL (+8.7%) is showing notable strength.

In earnings last night, AAPL (+8.7%) posted a blowout Q2 and offered its typical conservative guidance. Elsewhere, JNPR (-3.4%) and BIDU (-2.7%) both reported quarterly beats but provided downside guidance, while CYMI (-1.2%) posted a beat but offered higher than expected expense guidance. This morning, SAP (+0.7%) and WIT (-4.2%) each posted quarterly results that fell just short of consensus. S (+0.8%) and GLW (+5.8%), on the other hand, reported a quarterly beats. In news, CRAY (+22.6%) agreed to sell interconnect hardware assets to INTC (+1.1%).

Among notable analyst upgrades this morning, AAPL (+8.7%) was upgraded to Outperform at Scotia Capital, CALX (+15.4%) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, ARMH (+2.1%) was upgraded to Hold at Jefferies and CYMI (-1.2%) was upgraded to Outperform at Credit Suisse. While in downgrades, SYMC (+0.4%) was downgraded at RBC and Lazard and Stifel Nicolaus downgraded AXE (-3.0%) to Hold.