Markets advanced Monday morning, with oil reaching a 6-week high above $73 a barrel, a rally in European stocks after Royal Philips Electronics announced its glowing earnings report, and a general sense of economic recovery. Going into a foreseeably light Columbus Day of trading, a weaker dollar has pushed all major energy and commodities sectors notably higher, extending last week’s gains, in anticipation of an onslaught by a spate of Q3 earnings data over the next few weeks.

Intel is poised to offer solid earnings data Tuesday afternoon and many investors are expecting a bullish Q4 outlook from the company, setting a positive tone for chip manufacturers. Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS) and Cypress Semiconductor (CY) data will be out before Thursday’s markets open with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) posting its report after the close. Nokia, IBM and Google will also report Thursday with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc.,

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 30, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include Broadcom (BRCM), Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS), Intel (INTC), Linear Technology (LLTC), Cypress Semiconductor (CY) and Texas Instruments (TXN).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

This week: Q2 Results Show Chip Recovery

Twice in this column, I have said that the chip industry is in the early stages of a recovery. Second-quarter results, and the earnings estimate revisions in response to them, have so far proven my assessment to be correct.

During the month of July, 247 full-year profit forecasts were raised on companies within Electronic Computer-Semiconductor, the most of any group. In more tangible terms, analysts have increased their earnings projections on 55 chip makers.

The positive revisions follow

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 30, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include Broadcom (BRCM), Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS), Intel (INTC), Linear Technology (LLTC), Cypress Semiconductor (CY), Texas Instruments (TXN) and iShares Semiconductor (IGW).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

This week: Q2 Results Show Chip Recovery

Twice in this column, I have said that the chip industry is in the early stages of a recovery. Second-quarter results, and the earnings estimate revisions in response to them, have so far proven my assessment to be correct.

During the month of July, 247 full-year profit forecasts were raised on companies within Electronic Computer-Semiconductor, the most of any group. In more tangible terms, analysts have increased their earnings projections on 55 chip makers.

...

Twice in this column, I have said that the chip industry is in the early stages of a recovery. Second-quarter results, and the earnings estimate revisions in response to them, have so far proven my assessment to be correct.

During the month of July, 247 full-year profit forecasts were raised on companies within Electronic Computer-Semiconductor, the most of any group. In more tangible terms, analysts have increased their earnings projections on 55 chip makers.

The positive revisions follow many better-than-expected profit reports. Though revenues and earnings were down from a year ago, many companies said revenues increased from the prior quarter. For example, Broadcom (BRCM) experienced an 18% rebound in revenues from the first quarter and Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS) saw a 25% increase.

At the same time, inventories declined for many companies. Intel (INTC), for instance, reported an approximate 8% drop in inventory levels. This is

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 15, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ISPH), Allergan Inc. (AGN), InSite Vision Incorporated (INSV), National Australia Bank Limited (NABZY) and Cypress Semiconductor (CY).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:

Inspire Pharma Still Looking Good

Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ISPH) has a co-promotional alliance with Allergan Inc. (AGN). In Allergan, Inspire has a highly respected, financially strong partner. The duo currently sells Elestat (epinastine HCl ophthalmic solution), launched in

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Opportunity in CY Cypress Semiconductor Programmable Systems on Chips (PsoCs)PSoC is currently Cypress Semiconductor's (CY) most important product line. PSoCs have a prolonged and definite roadmap. Typically, the company starts tracking a possible revenue stream from the time that a customer takes an active interest in the product. It takes roughly two-three quarters to get from this stage to the design win stage. The design wins take another two-three quarters to get converted to revenue. Therefore, PSoC revenue can be estimated roughly a year in advance. Since the company has been seeing steady growth in PSoC design wins, the product line is sure to become the backbone of CY's business. As the PsoCs get designed into products with longer life cycles, the predictability and stability of revenues will improve further.At present however, a large portion of PSoC microcontrollers are being incorporated into ...