LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd.  (LPL) Trade Now »     Rate LPL  -  Discuss LPL  -  Add to Watch List        

With panoramic LCD wide-screens staring at me from every street-corner billboard...I'd be a fool not to buy LPL at this price.

They are established players. Although under stiff competition from Samsung, they'll perform well.

Love their niche branding and product placement strategy.

AT&T (T) has sued Samsung, LG Display (LPL), AU Optronics (AUO) and other makers OF LCD panels, alleging they colluded to fix prices in the U.S., Bloomberg reports. The suit was filed in federal court in San Francisco yesterday.

The telco asserts in the complaint that defendants “formed an international cartel illegally to restrict competition” in the U.S. in the market for LCD panels.

LG Display (LPL) shares are down sharply today amid ongoing concerns about the near-term outlook for the LCD panel sector. The worries about LPL have spilled over into other plays in the sector, pressuring shares of both AU Optronics (AUO) and Corning (GLW).

The South Korea-based company posted Q3 revenue of 5.97 billion Korean won, up 22% sequentially, and 55% year over year; Net income was up 85% sequentially, and 90% year over year.

The company expects Q4 glass shipments to be up in the high single digits, but with ASPs gradually decreasing, after a 12% increase in the third quarter.

LG Display (LPL) said it will sell up a $4 billion joint venture with China’s Guangzhou Development District to build LCD panels, Reuters reports. Plans for the venture were first announced in August, but no details had been previously provided on the proposed facility, which is supposed to start mass production in 2012.

LG Display (LPL) posted a sharp rebound in the second quarter, as demand for LCD displays improved dramatically in the quarter.

The Korean display maker posted Q2 sales of 4.89 trillion Korean won, up 33% from 3.67 trillion in Q1, and ahead 16% from the 4.21 trillion posted a year ago. Net profit was 302 billion won, up from a loss of 255 billion in Q1, but off from 889 million a year ago.

Photronics (PLAB) shares are trading higher this morning after UBS analyst Stephen Chin raised his rating on the photomask company to Buy from Neutral. His price target is now $6, up from $2.50. The stock closed yesterday at $4.09. He also boosted his EPS estimate for the October 2009 fiscal year to a loss of 66 cents from a loss of 73 cents; for FY 2010 he now sees a profit of 11 cents, up from 7 cents, and well ahead of the Street at 2 cents.