Time for AMAT to go private
AMAT management should do a leverage buyout and say goodbye to wall street. The business is strong, strong balance sheet, and great cash flow. The stock gets no respect in the public markets so why play the game. It trades at a ridiculous PEG ratio of under 1 when many stocks have PEG ratios of 3 and higher.
With three excellent earnings reports in '06 and the stock is down over 12% when the general market is up 4%. Again, management should take the company from the public with a LBO and laugh all the way to the bank and rid themselves of the joke called earnings guidance. Every quarter the street is worried about the guidance only to see that the guidance means nothing because the #s are always there. Go private.