Dense Pac Microsystems Inc

Beneventure Founders Risicokapitaalfonds II N.V. lowered its stake in Dense Pac Microsystems Inc. to 7.78%. The firm sold 282,000 shares of Dense Pac common stock at prices ranging from $6 to $6.56 per share, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It now holds about 1.3 million shares in Garden Grove-based Dense Pac.

Computer memory chip packager Dense-Pac Microsystems Inc., offering a sliver of bullish news in the beleaguered technology sector, said it plans a modest increase in its work force as part of a recent uptick in business. Its shares climbed more than 29%, or 59 cents a share, to close at $2.60 on Nasdaq. The stock traded as high as $17.69 last July.

Dense-Pac Microsystems Inc. said Monday that it has received a $550,000 order from an undisclosed military customer. Dense-Pac said the order is for its electrically erasable, programmable read-only memory for use in a military program. The company expects to ship the order next quarter. Dense-Pac designs and makes three-dimensional high-density memory products.

* Ameron International Corp. reported a 15% rise in second-quarter earnings on higher demand. The Pasadena-based maker of pipes for major construction projects reported net income for the period ended May 31 of $7.0 million, or $1.78 per share, compared with $6.2 million, or $1.55, a year ago. Sales rose 3% to $143.7 million. * The state Court of Appeal in Santa Ana has upheld an $870,000 jury award for a former Amplicon Inc.

The Garden Grove maker of electronic design and manufacturing systems posted a fourth-quarter loss of $669,000, or 3 cents a share, compared with a profit of $864,000, or 4 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the three months ended Feb. 28 rose 22% to $8 million. For the fiscal year, the company earned $1.8 million, or 9 cents a share, down from $2.6 million, or 13 cents a share, the previous year. Revenue rose 30% to $35.8 million.

Dense-Pac Microsystems Inc. said Monday it has sold its TypeHaus unit to the unit's management for cash and a secured note. Financial details were not disclosed. Dense-Pac said the unit, which provides printing services for laser printing, was acquired in 1997. Garden Grove-based Dense-Pac makes three-dimensional high-density semiconductor packaging products.

Dense-Pac Microsystems Inc. shares moved lower again Thursday after the one analyst who covers the company lowered his rating. The Garden Grove company's stock, which tumbled more than 30% Wednesday, fell nearly 20%, or $1.31, on Thursday to close at $5.31 in Nasdaq trading. The first-day sell-off came after the company, which builds computer memory systems, warned that a shortage of some computer chips will hurt business in the current quarter.

Dense-Pac Microsystems Inc. said its fiscal second-quarter profit will be hurt by a shortage of direct random-access memory chips, sending its shares down 30%. Garden Grove-based Dense-Pac builds condensed, high-power memory for computers by linking together semiconductors. Dense-Pac said its earnings for the quarter ending Aug. 31 will fall below the 7-cents-a-share forecast of Thomas Weisel Partners' Eric Gomberg, the only analyst who tracks the company's earnings. Dense-Pac shares fell $2.

Shares of Dense-Pac Microsystems Inc. tumbled Wednesday after the Garden Grove builder of high-powered computer memory systems said its second-quarter results will be hurt by a shortage of some types of chips. The stock fell 30.3%, the third largest percentage loss in U.S. markets Wednesday, and has fallen 59% from its peak on July 21. Dense-Pac shares closed at $6.63, down $2.88, in Nasdaq trading. The company builds condensed, high-power memory for computers by linking semiconductors.

Dense-Pac Microsystems Inc. stock slumped Tuesday in heavy trading after an analyst downgraded the Garden Grove company's shares from "strong buy" to "buy." The shares fell 23%, or $3.50, to $11.94 in heavy trading on the Nasdaq market. Nearly 3 million shares changed hands, compared with average daily volume of 633,433 shares over the last three months. Despite the decline, the stock's value has increased fivefold over the last 12 months.