The company, which supplies chips for digital TV and digital set-top boxes, predicted second-quarter revenue of $70 million to $72 million. The forecast was below Wall Street estimates of $91.7 million, according to Thomson Financial.

According to Longbow Research, Trident's outlook implied fiscal second-quarter profit of 22 cents to 23 cents per share, far below the average analyst estimate of 32 cents per share.

Jefferies & Co. analyst Adam Benjamin called the company's guidance "shockingly disastrous" and downgraded the stock from "Buy" to "Hold" in a note to investors.

He said he expected the company to lose TV market share and face increasing price pressure as the TV market divides. "Trident's bet on the high end poorly positions it to address the faster-growing low-end TV market which requires low-cost," he said.

He slashed his earnings-per-share estimate from $1.30 to 81 cents for the 2008 calendar year, and lowered his price target from $20 to $9.

Needham & Co downgraded Trident from "Strong Buy" to "Buy," saying that Trident attributed the significant outlook shortfall to a number of factors including an inventory rebalancing by a major customer, and a slower-than-expected production of high-definition chips for a major client.

However, it said that the company's share price remains "too attractive" to move reduce its rating to "Hold." Needham lowered its Trident price target to $14 from $22.

Longbow Research downgraded Trident from "Buy" to "Neutral." Analyst Tayyibe Shah said the company's guidance "reflected multiple customer issues and a shift in consumer demand patterns toward mid and low-end LCD TVs."

Elsewhere, Deutsche Bank downgraded Trident from "Buy" to "Hold" and Oppenheimer lowered its rating from "Buy" to "Neutral."

Shares plunged $5.06, or 41.4 percent, to a new 52-week low of $6.80 Friday. The stock has ranged from $11.97 to $23.59 over the past year.