Saifun Semiconductors (SFUN)

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William Blair & Company Initiates Coverage Of Saifun Semiconductors Ltd. With Outperform Rating
via COMTEX

December 19, 2005

CHICAGO, Dec 19, 2005 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

William Blair & Company today announced that it initiated research coverage of Saifun Semiconductors Ltd. (Nasdaq: SFUN) ($28.34), whose nitride read only memory (NROM) technology has the potential to significantly alter the competitive landscape of the non-volatile memory semiconductor market, with an Outperform rating and company profile of Aggressive Growth.

Analyst Jeff Rosenberg estimated that the company would earn $1.04 per share in fiscal 2006 and $1.37 per share in fiscal 2007.

"The company, in our opinion, has a very attractive financial model," Rosenberg said. "We forecast gross and operating margins of at least 75% and 45%, respectively, in 2006. Unlike chip or product manufacturers that are more subject to the cyclical forces in the flash memory market, the vast majority of Saifun's earnings derive from license and royalty payments."

"We expect 2006 to be an important transition year for the company," he added. "The flash memory market has two major segments, known as NOR and NAND. Saifun initially achieved greater penetration of the technically more complex, but slower growing, NOR segment. Efforts to replicate that success in the NAND market, which we believe largely hinges on the successful introduction of the company's 4-bit per cell technology, are a key priority for 2006."

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. ( http://www.williamblair.com ) is a Chicago-based investment firm, founded in 1935, offering investment banking, asset management, equity research, institutional and private brokerage, and private capital to individual, institutional, and issuing clients.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. has received compensation for investment banking services from the company within the past 12 months, or expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services in the next 3 months.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. was a manager or co-manager of a public offering of equity securities within the prior 12 months.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is a market maker in the security of this company and may have a long or short position.

For important disclosures and information regarding the firm's rating system, valuation methods and potential conflicts of interest, please visit: http://www.williamblair.com/Pages/news_story_dept.asp?uid=954&depID=4 .

Additional information is available upon request.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, CRD number 1252.

SOURCE William Blair & Company, L.L.C.

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