Pall Corp. (PLL

) reported second-quarter earnings per share of 20 cents, vs. 25 cents a year ago. William Blair downgraded the stock to market perform.

Analyst William Benton tells S&P MarketScope that Pall's second-quarter EPS missed his estimate by 9 cents. He thinks restructuring charges are becoming more operating vs. one-time in nature. He says it is becoming increasingly difficult for the company to reach back-half expectations as gross margin weaker than expected due to mixed issues.

Benton thinks hitting the bottom end of $1.25 to $1.40 2004 EPS target may be difficult. At current levels, he believes there is further downside potential to the stock price given the lack of conviction.