FBR Capital Lowers PT On LLTC To $30

FBR Capital is lowering its price target from $33 to $30 on Linear Technology Corp.. LLTC following in-line quarter results from the company. Says FBR Capital, in the report, “Tuesday, Linear reported in-line calendar 2Q11 financial results (when ignoring a $0.13 tax benefit), but guided calendar 3Q11 revenues to shrink 6%–8% QOQ due to European and U.S. debt concerns, weak macroeconomic trends, the reversal of Japanese safety stock order benefits, and likely due to slower industrial and automotive seasonality as Europe vacations in August. With similar concerns noted from TI, Microchip, and others, plus widespread front-end and back-end production cuts seen in early July, it is clear that the global supply chain is stepping on the brakes until demand visibility improves. For Linear, the firm continues to execute well with controllable variables like gross margins (78.0%, +40 bps QOQ and outperforming peers hit with capacity and materials pressures), operating expense spending, and bottom-line profitability. Despite this goodness, September guidance puts revenues back on par with those from 1H10…” FBR maintains an Underperform rating on the stock. LLTC closed yesterday at $31.20.