Analysts Issue Flurry of Software Company Downgrades

It's not easy to be a software company nowadays, as evidenced by Thursday's forecast of lower-than-expected sales at Oracle (ORCL Quote), the second-largest software maker and kingpin of database management. Goldman Sachs and made it even harder on Friday by removing a large collection of software companies from its U.S. recommended-for-purchase list. The revisions and downgrades are battering the software sector. And Credit Suisse First Boston downgraded a dozen companies.

Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund, who cut Oracle to market outperform on Friday morning, also cut his ratings on many of its competitors. He trimmed Siebel Systems (SEBL Quote), which makes a software suite geared for online business, to market outperform.

Brocade Communications (BRCD Quote), a software maker focused on fusing storage systems into a network, was cut to market outperform by Goldman analyst Laura Conigliaro. She also clipped her 2001 estimate on the company, dropping it to 53 cents from 58 cents. ...