Zacks Analyst Interview Highlights: Microchip, On Semiconductor, Atmel, Napster and Best Buy

Business Wire, Oct 10, 2008

CHICAGO -- Zacks.com releases the latest Analyst Interview. Today's interview is with senior analyst Abdul Saleh, who talks about Microchip (Nasdaq: MCHP), On Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ONNN), Atmel (Nasdaq: ATML), Napster (Nasdaq: NAPS) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY).

A synopsis of today's Analyst Interview is presented below. The full article can be read at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.

Do you have any solid Buy recommendations at this point in time?

Existing recommendations based on pre-meltdown fundamentals and company guidance may not be viewed appropriately at this time. This is not to say that the existing recommendations are not relevant. My Buy recommendations, which are few are far between, may be revisited in conjunction with the upcoming earnings release and company guidance.

It is vitally important to pay attention to what the managements of the respective companies will say and how it will shape the estimates going forward. However, companies may exceed expectations and takeover/merger stories may begin to surface. One needs to pay attention to merger announcements already made: Microchip (Nasdaq: MCHP), along with On Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ONNN) has already made a hostile bid for Atmel (Nasdaq: ATML) and Napster (Nasdaq: NAPS) is set to be bought out by Best Buy (NYSE: BBY).

It would be interesting to see if these announced deals are reconstructed/revalued in the face of overall market devaluation. We have Hold ratings on MCHP and NAPS, and we had recently upgraded ATML from a Sell to a Hold.

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