Novellus (NVLS) in-line, orders still dropping

They reported slightly better than the street.

Orders came in down 20% for the quarter, towards the lower end of their range, but they give a wide range. They forecast orders will be +5/-15% for next quarter -- memory markets remain weak. The CEO said there was no way he could see that 09 would be below 08... but he's also looking for NAND to stay strong. I don't think NAND will stay strong as pricing there is terrible.

The semicap group in general has backed off quite a bit and I've been covering my shorts there due to technical reasons. Orders should continue to decline throughout year end. I'm less sure the stocks will at this point.

I remain short VSEA but I've covered LRCX and KLAC.