Sunday, September 21, 2014

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Own Right Now

Semiconductor giant Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) reports fourth-quarter results after Thursday’s bell, and the question is whether its earnings and its outlook can keep this week’s rally going. Intel is expected to report 52 cents a share in earnings for the fourth quarter, up 8.3 percent from a year ago. Revenue of $13.7 billion would be up 1.8 percent from last year.

The shares were up nearly 5 percent on the week on Wednesday, in part because JPMorgan analyst Christopher Danely upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral. Danely’s upgrade was based on reports from Intel, Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and others that personal computer demand may be improving.

At the same time, Danely said new CEO Brian Krzanich appears ready to offer “more realistic” guidance and focus on areas where Intel has a clear advantage.

The shares were at $26.84 Wednesday afternoon, up 32 cents or 1.2 percent. They hit a 52-week high of $26.91 earlier on Wednesday.

Top 5 Telecom Stocks For 2015: Sunedison Inc (SUNE)

SunEdison Inc, formerly MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., incorporated on October 1, 1984, is engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of silicon wafers. The Company is a developer and seller of photovoltaic energy solutions. Through Solar Materials and Solar Energy (SunEdison), it is a developer of solar energy projects. The Company operates in two segments: semiconductor materials and solar energy. The Company�� Solar Energy segment includes the operations of its old Solar Materials segment, as well as its SunEdison business. In the Semiconductor Materials, the Company offers wafers with a variety of features. The Company�� wafers vary in size, surface features, composition, purity levels, crystal properties and electrical properties.

Semiconductor Materials

The Company�� monocrystalline wafers for use in semiconductor applications range in size from 100 millimeter to 300 millimeter and are round in shape for semiconductor customers because of the nature of their processing equipment. Its wafers are used as the starting material for the manufacture of various types of semiconductor devices, including microprocessor, memory, logic and power devices. In turn, these semiconductor devices are used in computers, cellular phones and other mobile electronic devices, automobiles and other consumer and industrial products. Its monocrystalline wafers for semiconductor applications include four general categories of wafers: prime, epitaxial, test/monitor and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers.

The Company�� prime wafer is a polished, pure wafer with an ultraflat and ultraclean surface. The Company�� epitaxial (epi), wafers consist of a thin silicon layer grown on the polished surface of the wafer. Typically, the epitaxial layer has different electrical properties from the underlying wafer. This provides customers with isolation between circuit elements than a polished wafer. Its AEGIS product is designed for certain specialized applications requiring high resis! tivity epitaxial wafers and its MDZ product feature. The AEGIS wafer includes a thin epitaxial layer grown on a standard starting wafer. The AEGIS wafer�� thin epitaxial layer eliminates harmful defects on the surface of the wafer, thereby allowing device manufacturers to increase yields. The Company supplies test/monitor wafers to its customers for use in testing semiconductor fabrication lines and processes. An SOI wafer is a different starting material for the chip making process.

Solar Energy

The Company�� Solar Energy segment provides solar energy services that integrate the design, installation, financing, monitoring, operations and maintenance portions of the downstream solar market to provide a solar energy service to its customers. As of December 31, 2012, SunEdison interconnected over 675 solar power systems representing 989 megawatt of solar energy generating capacity. As of December 31, 2012, SunEdison had 73 megawatt of projects under construction and 2.6 gigawatts in pipeline. In support of its downstream solar business, its Solar Energy segment manufactures polysilicon, silicon wafers and solar modules. Additionally, its Solar Energy segment will sell solar modules to third parties in the event the opportunity aligns with itsinternal needs. It provides its downstream customers with a way to purchase renewable energy by delivering solar power under long-term power purchase arrangements with customers or feed-in tariff arrangements with government entities and utilities. Its SunEdison business is dependent upon government subsidies, including United States federal incentive tax credits, state-sponsored energy credits and foreign feed-in tariffs. The Company�� solar wafers are used as the starting material for crystalline solar cells.

The Company competes with Shin-Etsu Handotai, SUMCO, Siltronic and LG Siltron, SunPower Corporation, First Solar, Inc., Enerparc, Sharp Corporation (Recurrent Energy), Phoenix Solar, BELECTRIC, JUWI Solar Gmbh, and S! olar City! .

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin]

    SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE) shares surged 0.50% to reach a new 52-week high of $13.99. SunEdison's trailing-twelve-month revenue is $2.06 billion.

    Posted-In: 52-Week HighsNews Intraday Update Markets Movers

  • [By Lee Jackson]

    SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) has changed its name and ticker but remains a top stock to buy at Merrill Lynch. The company recently did a large secondary offering to expand its solar growth. It also is looking to spin off its semiconductor business in an upcoming IPO. Merrill Lynch has a $10 price target, while the consensus figure is higher at $11. SunEdison closed yesterday $8.16.

  • [By Claudia Assis]

    SunEdison (SUNE) �said Monday it closed on a $155 billion debt financing agreement with investors that included CorpBanca, a major Chilean bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank to build a 72.8 megawatt plant in the Antofagasta region of Chile.

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Own Right Now: Rood Testhouse International NV (ROO)

Rood Testhouse International NV (RoodMicrotec) is a Netherlands-based company, operating an independent and certified test house and analysis lab for opto- and microelectronics. It is a supply chain management organization engaged in partial processes essential to reliable end-products. Its core services are managing the entire process from design idea all the way to supply to the end-user, including purchasing, logistics, warehousing/logistics; securing testability and manufacturability at an early stage in the chip design process. Its activities include supply chain amangement, test and end-of-line services, failure and technology analysis, test engineering, qualifications and reliability, as well as engineering/consulting/key account project management. It has six wholly owned subsidiaries: RoodMicrotec International B.V., RoodMicrotec Holding GmbH, RoodMicrotec Beteiligungs GmbH, RoodMicrotec Nordlingen GmbH + Co. KG, RoodMicrotec Dresden GmbH and RoodMicrotec Stuttgart GmbH. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Alan Ellman]

    The day is Friday July 12, and the stock is LEAP Wireless International Inc. (LEAP), which is a takeover candidate by AT&T. In the late afternoon, the share price was near $8 per share, the July $9 call option was priced @ $0.10, and the August $9 call @ $0.40. Covered call writers could generate an initial profit (ROO) of 1% and 5%, respectively. The average daily option trading volume for this company is 1320 contracts over the last three months. It appeared to be a normal trading day until the last hour of trading when option volume went through the roof. By day’s end, 7139 contracts were traded, all but 350 were calls as traders were taking a bullish stance on this stock. I think you know what’s coming!

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Own Right Now: Micropac Industries Inc (MPAD)

Micropac Industries, Inc. (Micropac), incorporated on March 3, 1969, manufactures and distributes various types of hybrid microelectronic circuits, solid state relays, power operational amplifiers, and optoelectronic components and assemblies. Micropac�� products are used as components in a range of military, space and industrial systems, including aircraft instrumentation and navigation systems, power supplies, electronic controls, computers, medical devices, and high-temperature (200o degree Celsius) products. The Company�� products are either custom (being application-specific circuits designed and manufactured to meet the particular requirements of a single customer) or standard components. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), its custom-designed components accounted for approximately 34% of its revenue and standard components accounted for approximately 66% of its revenue.

Micropac occupies approximately 36,000 square feet of manufacturing, engineering and office space in Garland, Texas. The Company owns 31,200 square feet of that space and leases an additional 4,800 square feet. It also sub-contracts some manufacturing to Inmobiliaria San Jose De Ciuddad Juarez S.A. DE C.V, a maquila contract manufacturer in Juarez, Mexico.

Micropac provides microelectronic and optoelectronic components and assemblies along with contract electronic manufacturing services, and offers a range of products sold to the industrial, medical, military, aerospace and space markets. The Microcircuits product line includes custom microcircuits, solid state relays, power operational amplifiers, and regulators. During fiscal 2011, microcircuits product line accounted for 51% of its revenue and the optoelectronics product line accounted for 62% of its business respectively. The Company�� core technology is the packaging and interconnects of miniature electronic components, utilizing thick film and thin film substrates, forming microelectronics circuits. Other technologi! es include light emitting and light sensitive materials and products, including light emitting diodes and silicon phototransistors used in its optoelectronic components, and assemblies.

The Company�� basic products and technologies include custom design hybrid microelectronic circuits, solid state relays and power controllers, custom optoelectronic assemblies and components, optocouplers, light-emitting diodes, Hall-Effect devices, displays, power operational amplifiers, fiber optic components and assemblies, and high temperature (200o degree Celsius) products. Micropac�� products are primarily sold to original equipment manufacturers (OEM��) who serve major markets, which includes military/aerospace, such as aircraft instrumentation, guidance and navigations systems, control circuitry, power supplies and laser positioning; space, which include control circuitry, power monitoring and sensing, and industrial, which includes power control equipment and robotics.

The Company�� products are marketed throughout the United States and in Western Europe. During fiscal 2011, approximately 21% of the Company�� revenue was from international customers. The Company�� major customers include contractors to the United States Government. During fiscal 2010, sales to these customers for the Department of Defense (DOD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contracts accounted for approximately 62% of its revenues. The Company�� customers are Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Rockwell Int��, and NASA.

The Company compete with Teledyne Industries, Inc., MS Kennedy, Honeywell, Avago and International Rectifier.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Geoff Gannon] % of NCAV, has similar (slightly better) z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 6%, but has ROA of 28%.

    ADDvantage (AEY) sells at 95% of NCAV, has similar (in the ballpark) scores and FCF and ROA of 23%.

    The slightly better businesses are currently more expensive in terms of price/NCAV. They have less asset-based downside protection, but they are better businesses.

    How do you quantify and qualify what is cheap enough? To me, there's a big difference in relative cheapness in a company selling at 74% of NCAV versus one selling at 95%. I'm wondering if I'm putting too much weight on this cheapness measurement instead of acknowledging that any decent business selling at less than NCAV is cheap enough. Yet, one has to have some quantifiable idea of when something is not cheap enough anymore.

    Can you help me put this into a unified framework?

    Dan

    There�� a great post over at Oddball Stocks called: �� Stock is a Business�� Read it. Then go over to Richard Beddard�� Interactive Investor Blog. Bookmark that blog. Read it religiously. He looks at Ben Graham type stocks in the U.K. And he looks at them not just as stocks but as pieces of a business.

    Here�� what Richard said in a post called ��iving Up on Mastery of the Universe��

    I need to know:

    1. Whether the managers have made good decisions in the past, and whether their incentives work in the interests of the owners, because those kind of managers often add value to a company.

    2. The products a company sells will still be in demand for years to come, because if they��e not then the past, which we know, does not tell us anything about the future, which we don��.

    3. A company is financially strong enough to withstand the kinds of shocks companies typically experience bearing in mind some are more sensitive to events than others.

    4. How to judge whether the share price undervalues the company, bearing in mind the preceding three factors.

  • [By Geoff Gannon] strong>ADDvantage Technologies (AEY)

    路 Solitron Devices (SODI)

    路 OPT-Sciences (OPST)

    Micropac

    Micropac is 76% owned by Heinz-Werner Hempel. He�� a German businessman. You can see the German company he founded here. He�� had control of Micropac for a long-time. I don�� have an exact number in front of me. But I would guess it�� been something like 25 years.

    ADDvantage

    ADDvantage Technologies is controlled by the Chymiak brothers. See the company�� April 4 press release explaining their decision to turn over the CEO position to an outsider. Regardless, the Chymiaks still control 47% of the company. Ken Chymiak is now chairman. And David Chymiak is still a director and now the company�� chief technology officer. Clearly, it�� still their company.

    By the way, the name ADDvantage Technologies has nothing to do with the Chymiaks. Today�� AEY really traces its roots to a private company called Tulsat. The Chymiak brothers acquired that company about 27 years ago. So, effectively, when you buy shares of AEY you are buying into a 27-year-old family-controlled company.

    That�� pretty typical in the world of net-nets.

    Solitron

    Solitron Devices is 29% owned by Shevach Saraf. He has been the CEO for 20 years. The post-bankruptcy Solitron has never known another CEO. Before the bankruptcy, Solitron was a much bigger, much different company. So even though we are not talking about the founder here ��and even though 70% of the company�� shares are not held by the CEO ��we��e still talking about a company where one person has a lot of control. Solitron only has three directors. Saraf is the chairman, CEO, president, CFO and treasurer. Neither of the other two directors joined the board within the last 15 years. So, we aren�� talking about a lot of tumult at the top.

    In fact, profitable net-nets seem to be especially common candidates for abandoning the responsibilities of a public comp

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Own Right Now: NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA)

NVIDIA Corporation provides visual computing, high performance computing, and mobile computing solutions that generate interactive graphics on various devices ranging from tablets and smart phones to notebooks and workstations. It operates in three segments: Graphic Processing Unit (GPU), Professional Solutions Business (PSB), and Consumer Products Business (CPB). The GPU segment offers GeForce discrete and chipset products, which support desktop and notebook personal computers plus memory products. The PSB segment provides its Quadro professional workstation products and other professional graphics products, including its NVIDIA Tesla high-performance computing products used in the manufacturing, entertainment, medical, science, and aerospace industries. The CPB segment offers Tegra mobile products, which support tablets, smartphones, personal media players, Internet television, automotive navigation, and other similar devices. This segment also licenses video game consol es and other digital consumer electronics devices. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, add-in-card manufacturers, consumer electronics companies, and system builders worldwide that utilize its processors as a core component of their entertainment, business, and professional solutions. NVIDIA Corporation was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By rsconsultant]

    At the point when Google dispatched the second cycle of the Nexus 7, it continued with Qualcomm's (QCOM) processor instead of sticking with Nvidia's (NVDA) Tegra 4. Nvidia lost a couple of smartphone slots such as HTC as well. What's more, Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows RT, which was based on the Tegra stage, never truly took off and Microsoft needed to suffer a gigantic record of $900 million.

  • [By John Udovich]

    Its been a bumpy ride for both short term and long term investors and traders alike in Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (NYSE: AMD)���including us because�we have had the stock in our�SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio since last summer�and we have seen our position make good gains�only to twice see those gains evaporate after two quarterly earnings reports that did not live up to the lofty expectations of some bulls. Nevertheless, there is reason to be optimistic if you consider the following good news:

    AMD Radeon R9 290 Graphics Card. Yesterday, Advanced Micro Devices launched�its AMD Radeon��R9 290 graphics card at a starting price of $399 and EUR 289 (excluding VAT) and there are already positive reviews for the card on AnandTech, Forbes (AMD Disrupts GPU Market Again With $399 Radeon R9 290),�HotHardware, PC World and TechSpot. The verdict? The�R9 290 not only continues to outperform the Nvidia GTX 780, but it also undercuts it by $100�- meaning�NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) will either have to answer with a price cut or�come up with a�higher-performing, cheaper card. Cramer�� Advice. For what his advice might be worth, Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC�� Mad Money, has just noted that while AMD has been a disappointment this year, he�pointed out�that the company�� products will be in both Sony Corporation�� (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Corporation�� (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox One consoles which he hopes will pave the way for�what should be a strong quarter. However,�Cramer also added that�if the quarter comes in weaker than expected, investors should�look elsewhere to put their money to work.� Upcoming Investor�Conferences or Summits. Various Advanced Micro Devices��executives will be presenting�at upcoming conferences with Devinder Kumar, senior vice president and chief financial officer, presenting at the Credit Suisse Annual Technology Conference on�December 3 at 2:00 PM; John Byrne, senior vice
  • [By Chris Neiger]

    NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA  ) unveiled its new�Quadro K6000 graphics processing unit (GPU) today, saying it is the "fastest and most capable GPU ever built."

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Own Right Now: NeoPhotonics Corp (NPTN)

NeoPhotonics Corporation, incorporated on October 31, 1996, is a designer and manufacturer of photonic integrated circuit (PIC)-based modules and subsystems for bandwidth-intensive, high-speed communications networks. The Company has a portfolio of over 300 products, including products that enable data transmission at 10 gigabytes per second, 40 gigabytes per second and 100 gigabytes per second, agility products, such as reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs) that allocate bandwidth to adjust for volatile traffic patterns, and access products that provide high-bandwidth connections to more devices and people over fixed and wireless networks. In October 2011, the Company acquired Santur Corporation. In June 2013, it announced first shipments of optical transceiver modules out of its new, high capacity factory in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China.

The Company�� products are categorized in 34 product families. The Company sells its products to the network equipment vendors globally, including ADVA AG Optical Networking Ltd., Alcatel-Lucent SA, Ciena Corporation (including its recent acquisition of Nortel�� Metro Ethernet Networks business), Cisco Systems, Inc., FiberHome Technologies Group, ECI Telecom Ltd., Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Fujitsu Limited, Harmonic, Inc., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, NEC Corporation, Nokia Siemens Networks B.V. and ZTE Corporation.

The Company competes with Finisar Corporation, JDS Uniphase Corporation, MRV Communications, Inc., NTT Electronics Corporation and Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Anders Bylund]

    Close competitor NeoPhotonics (NYSE: NPTN  ) soared 15% higher. Larger rival JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU  ) jumped 7.9% to become the fastest gainer on the S&P 500. If Ciena can beat its own expectations in selling Internet backbone equipment to a bevy of major telecoms, its chief rivals must eventually follow suit. JDS is only one month removed from its latest quarterly report, which sent shares diving 7% overnight (but all was forgiven a week later). NeoPhotonics also reported in early May, but didn't make any waves then.

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Own Right Now: Intel Corporation(INTC)

Intel Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of integrated circuits for computing and communications industries worldwide. It offers microprocessor products used in notebooks, netbooks, desktops, servers, workstations, storage products, embedded applications, communications products, consumer electronics devices, and handhelds. The company also provides system on chip products that integrate its core processing functionalities with other system components, such as graphics, audio, and video, onto a single chip. In addition, it offers chipset products that send data between the microprocessor and input, display, and storage devices, including keyboard, mouse, monitor, hard drive, and CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drives; motherboards designed for desktop, server, and workstation platforms, and that has connectors for attaching devices to the bus; and wired and wireless connectivity products consisting of network adapters and embedded wireless cards used to translate and transmit data across networks. Further, the company provides NAND flash memory products primarily used in portable memory storage devices, digital camera memory cards, and solid-state drives; software products comprising operating systems, middleware, and tools used to develop, run, and manage various enterprise, consumer, embedded, and handheld devices; and software development tools that enable the creation of applications. Additionally, it develops computing platforms, which are integrated hardware and software computing technologies designed to offer an optimized solution. The company sells its products principally to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, PC components and other products users, and other manufacturers of industrial and communications equipment. It has a strategic alliance with Scientific Conservation Inc. Intel Corporation was founded in 1968 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Wallace Witkowski]

    Intel Corp. (INTC) �shares, which had been up nearly 3% after the earnings report first came out, fell 0.8% to $23.20 in recent heavy trading after the chip maker topped Wall Street estimates on flat earnings for the third quarter. Intel�� forecast likely weighed on the stock after hours, implying slim, if any, growth in the December quarter.

No comments:

Post a Comment