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Handspring (Nasdaq: HAND) was down 38 U.S. cents to $16.50 in morning trading Monday, following reports that US Bancorp Piper Jaffray downgraded the stock to buy from strong buy.
"We believe Handspring will feel the impact of a slowing U.S. economy," US Bancorp analysts wrote in a morning research note.
US Bancorp cut its estimates for Handspring's fourth-quarter revenue to $123.2 million from $133.9 million, and lowered its fiscal 2002 revenue forecast to $626.9 million from $733.3 million.
The analyst firm said that it expects Handspring to lose 7 cents per share in the fourth quarter, rather than the 6 cents previously estimated, and cut its outlook for full-year earnings to 3 cents per share from 8 cents.
US Bancorp also slashed its 12-month price target for Handspring shares to $32 from $110.
Last week, NCR filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Handspring and fellow handheld computer maker Palm. However, Palm, in a statement issued Monday, said the suit has "no merit."
Handspring, based in Mountain View, California, reported a 600 percent year-over-year increase in revenue for the second quarter ended December 30th, when it reported revenue of $115.6 million. The company said the results reflected strong demand for its Visor computers and expansion in the U.S. and Asia.
Handspring posted a loss before amortization of deferred stock compensation of $7 million for the quarter, or 7 cents per share, compared with a 15.2 million, or 12 cent per share, loss a year earlier.
The company ended up
with a net loss of 15.19 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with a
loss of $10.06 million, or 32 cents, a year earlier.
