Thomas Weisel downgraded Perkielmer (PKI

) to market outperform from strong buy.

Analyst Paul Knight says the optoelectronics group continues to be the weakest, and he expects the company to incur an operating loss this quarter, vs. his previous estimate of a $5 million gain. He notes other groups were indicated as being weaker, such as life science and analytical instruments.

As a result, Knight cut his $1.05 2002 EPS estimate to $0.50, and trimmed the $1.25 2003 estimate to $0.80. He also cut the $1.4 billion 2002 revenue estimate to $1.3 billion and trimmed the $1.58 billion 2003 estimate to $1.43 billion. Finally, Knight cut his 12-month target to $14-$16.