Intel, Chipmakers Slip On Morgan Stanley Downgrade

Nvidia shares were downgraded on fears that cheaper products from Intel will erode Nvidia's chipset market share. Nvidia is the top maker of standalone graphics chips.

Lipacis noted that Micron's stock has declined since its 52-week high of $9.13 on Oct. 12 because of profit-taking and anticipation of a seasonal decline in memory chip prices. He thinks it will likely stay down in the near term because of concerns that PC makers have built up big stockpiles of chips and won't need to buy as many new ones.

Wedbush Securities analyst Betsy Van Hees also downgraded Micron's stock on signs that the supply of memory chips will likely be higher than demand in the first quarter, pressuring selling prices and profit margins.

Two chip stocks that Lipacis upgraded were Maxim Integrated Products Inc. and Linear Technology Corp. Lipacis wrote that Maxim has strong revenue growth and that the benefits from a new distribution deal are in the early stages.

Maxim shares rose 29 cents to close at $17.04, while Linear shares rose 27 cents to $26.25.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints