Analyst Actions: Microsoft, Analog Devices, Forest Labs, Tele Celular Sul

Updated from 9:11 a.m.

The constant chatter from analysts produces a thick mass of white noise, a deep static that nearly obliterates the very meaning of words. It's just another salvo of comments from analysts, who many investors blame for their losses. But every once in a while, a comment juts out at a right angle, sounds an alarm and slices through the patter.

Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund did just that when talking about Microsoft's (MSFT Quote) future. His note to investors, taken on face value, was typical. He announced that he was guiding his 2001 and 2001 fiscal earnings per share estimates lower, citing weakness in the PC sector, an area that Microsoft has a great deal of exposure to, since it bundles Windows with new computers.

Sherlund, who reiterated his market outperform rating, now expects the company to come in with revenue 10% lower than in the previous quarter. Accordingly, he dropped his 2001 earnings expectations to $1.75 a share from $1.78 a share, and 2002 to $1.75 from $1.86. ...