UPDATE 2-Amphenol Q3 profit tops Street

* Q3 EPS $0.47 vs est $0.43

* Forecasts Q4 rev above estimates

* Revenue down 17 pct (Adds analyst comments, updates share movement)

By Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay

BANGALORE, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Amphenol Corp (APH.N), a maker of electronic and fiber optic connectors, reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations, driven partly by growth in mobile devices, and forecast fourth-quarter revenue above analysts' expectations.

Shares of the company, which have gained 72 percent year to date, fell 4 percent to $39.64 Thursday morning as investors were expecting a stronger December quarter for the company.

"Their sales guidance on a sequential basis has been weaker than expected," said Amit Daryanani of RBC Capital Markets said.

The company, which has historically seen a 4 percent rise in sales sequentially, forecast only a 2 percent growth in sales, he added.

Daryanani, however, said the stock should sustain at 20 to 21 times multiple on a P/E basis, "which would mean that the stock should work toward $45 by the end of the year."

Analyst Jeffrey Beach of Stifel Nicolaus & Co said, "the stock was very strong yesterday on anticipation of a good quarter and now that the results have been reported, the stock is giving up a little bit of the gain into a weaker market today."

Analysts are upbeat about the company's 2010 growth prospects.

Amphenol, which competes with Molex Inc (MOLX.O) and Tyco Electronics Ltd (TEL.N), is likely to benefit as its bigger end-markets are military and aerospace, Beach said.

The company, which has facilities in China, Mexico, India, and Eastern Europe, sees fourth-quarter earnings of 47 cents to 49 cents a share, on revenue of $720 million to $735 million.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 47 cents a share on revenue of $711.6 million.

RBC Capital's Daryanani said in 2010 he expects the company to return to its historically levels of 10 percent to 15 percent revenue growth and 20 percent EPS growth.

"Acquisitions will make up a bigger chunk of that 10 percent to 15 percent revenue growth in 2010, if the company does not see a big spending rebound, said Daryanani, who has an "outperform" rating on the stock.