Altera Corp. (ALTR, Buy) issued its mid-quarter update for Q2, ending in June, yesterday. Judging from the share-price performance so far today (down nearly 5%), investors appear to have taken the news with a grain of salt. Perhaps the absence of an upside in guidance is the reason for the shares negative performance so far today.Investors may recall that ALTR shares got a boost last week following a sell-side analyst raising his Q2 EPS estimates by a penny, compared to our and consensus estimates of $0.16, based mainly on expectation that the company will boost its second-quarter forecast during the mid-quarter update. Apparently the company has not done so, resulting in a reversal of gains from last week.But it remains to be seen whether the company can deliver improved results compared to our and consensus expectations, given the company's reiteration that "demand from OEMs ...

Altera's (ALTR) return on equity (ROE) of 35% crushes the industry average of 4%. The company is yielding 1%, which compares favorably to its peers as Altera is operating in an industry that offers very little in the way of dividends.

Company Description

Altera provides programmable logic devices (PLD), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), pre-defined design building blocks, and associated development tools. The company serves customers primarily in the communications, computer and storage, consumer, and industrial sectors. ALTR markets its products through a network of distributors, independent sales representatives, and direct sales personnel. It has operations primarily in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and Japan.

ALTR Backed Guidance

The company recently reaffirmed that it expects third quarter sales to be flat to 3% lower than that of the year-prior. Altera added that it will announce third quarter results after market close on October 14, 2008.

Growth in the Second Quarter

Altera reported its second-quarter

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