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PC Punching Bag: UBS Warburg Cuts Estimates on Dell, H-P

Dan Bernstein

UBS Warburg analyst Don Young revised downward his estimates on two major PC makers today, just a day after the analyst said the entire PC industry would be hurt by weakness in Europe.

According to a research note this morning, Young lowered his numbers for both Dell(DELL) and Hewlett-Packard(HWP). For Dell, the analyst reduced his second-quarter earnings estimate to 14 cents a share from 16 cents. Young said that because of the ongoing price war for computers, Dell may further cut prices, putting more pressure on the company's earnings.

"[There are] no winners in this price war," Young wrote. (Yesterday, however, the analyst issued a research report saying that Microsoft might benefit.)

The analyst cut Hewlett-Packard's earnings estimate for the June quarter to 16 cents a share from 20 cents (the company reports earnings on Aug. 15). Young also cut his estimates for the October quarter to 28 cents a share from 31 cents, and he reduced his fiscal 2002 estimate to $1.16 a share from $1.34.