Kulicke & Soffa Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of semiconductor equipment manufacturer Kulicke & Soffa (Nasdaq: KLIC  ) slipped 11% in intraday trading when the company announced that revenue for the fourth quarter would be "significantly below" revenue in the September quarter. The company had thought December revenue would be roughly in line with the September quarter.

So what: The tech industry, and semiconductors in particular, has been a bright spot so far in the recovery. Slipping revenue for the semiconductor equipment players could be an indication that semiconductor manufacturers such as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC  ) and Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM  ) aren't feeling quite as bullish.

Now what: An analyst from Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB  ) has used his channel checks in the semicap equipment space to project that the entire sector will face pressure, and he dropped Lam Research (Nasdaq: LRCX  ) and KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq: KLAC  ) to a "sell" rating. Of course, the thing to remember is that the semiconductor industry is highly cyclical, and semiconductor equipment is even more so. The current concerns pertain specifically to the fourth quarter and potentially 2011, so investors with a longer time horizon may want to keep today's move in perspective.

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