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 printed circuit board maker TTM Technologies
So what: TTM managed to swing to second-quarter profit, but lower-than-expected core earnings -- EPS of $0.17 versus the consensus of $0.23 -- coupled with downbeat guidance for the current quarter reinforces fears over slowing global demand. Spiking labor costs in Asia are also putting heavy pressure on margins, raising plenty of concern over TTM's profitability going forward.
Now what: Management now sees third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.16-$0.24 on revenue of $340 million-$360 million, below the analyst consensus of $0.33 and $362 million, respectively. "As we enter the second half of the year, we are beginning to receive orders in our Asia Pacific segment for new handheld products," President and CEO Kent Alder reassured investors. "This improving advanced HDI demand in the second half of 2012 is beginning to materialize as anticipated and should improve our results." More important, with the stock now off more than 30% from its 52-week high and trading at a forward P/E of around 6, betting on that turnaround comes at a particularly cheap price.
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