Shares of
QLogic
(QLGC)
fell sharply Monday after a downgrade by
U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray
analyst Ashok Kumar.
Shares of the Aliso Viejo, Calif., company recently tumbled $21.19, or about 30%, to $49.19 in morning
Nasdaq
trading. They closed at $70.38 on Friday's activity on the Nasdaq.
In his report, Kumar lowered the company's investment rating to neutral, citing "disappointing" third-quarter results. QLogic makes semiconductors and interfaces for network storage systems. Kumar, who also slashed his rating on
Emulex
(EMLX)
, said QLogic's stock faces a valuation compression and earnings risk. Emulex stock
plunged Monday after it warned of lower third-quarter results.
Kumar also said his downgrades were influenced by the "ailing" storage industry, marked by the "disappointing performance" from
Network Appliance
(NTAP) - Get Report
. Network Appliance
reported third-quarter earnings on Feb. 8.
