This week, these ten stocks, all currently earning A’s (“strong buy”) on Portfolio Grader, have the best year-to-date performance. Since the beginning of the year, the Nasdaq is up 10.9%, the Dow increased 13.2%, and the S&P has risen 12.1%.
Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks For 2015: Dialog Semiconductor PLC (DLG)
Dialog Semiconductor Plc creates integrated, mixed signal integrated circuits (ICs), optimized for personal portable, short-range wireless, lighting, display and automotive applications. The Company operates in three business segments: Mobile Systems, Automotive and Industrial, and Connectivity. The Mobile Systems segment includes its power management and audio chips especially designed to meet the needs of the wireless systems markets and a range of advanced driver technologies for low power display applications - from Passive Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes (PMOLEDs), to electronic paper and Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) displays. The Automotive and Industrial segment consists of products, which address the safety, management and control of electronic systems in cars and for industrial applications. The Connectivity segment includes activities, such as short-range wireless, digital cordless and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) technology. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jonathan Morgan]
Dialog Semiconductor Plc (DLG) surged 6.5 percent to 12.55 euros, its highest price in two months, after Apple Inc. (AAPL), the company�� biggest customer, reported fiscal third-quarter revenue and iPhone sales that beat analysts��estimates.
- [By Corinne Gretler]
Colruyt SA jumped the most in almost a year after reporting earnings that beat estimates. Direct Line Insurance Group Plc (DLG), the U.K.�� biggest home and motor insurer, rallied 3.8 percent after saying it will cut jobs. GSW Immobilien AG, Berlin�� largest residential landlord by market value, advanced 3.8 percent after saying both its chairman and chief executive officer will leave. Mining companies declined as metals fell.
- [By Jonathan Morgan]
Direct Line (DLG) dropped 2.5 percent to 212.6 pence. RBS sold 300 million shares at 210 pence apiece in its third sale of a stake in the insurance company, according to a statement. The bank, which is majority owned by the U.K. government, reduced its holding in Direct Line by 20 percent to 28.5 percent. RBS slipped 1.3 percent to 364.1 pence.
Top 10 Semiconductor Stocks To Own For 2014: Xilinx Inc (XLNX)
Xilinx, Inc. (Xilinx), incorporated on February 5, 1984, designs, develops and markets programmable platforms. These programmable platforms have a number of components, including integrated circuits (ICs) in the form of programmable logic devices (PLDs), including Extensible Processing Platforms (EPPs); software design tools to program the PLDs; targeted reference designs; printed circuit boards, and intellectual property (IP), which consists of Xilinx and various third-party verification and IP cores. In addition to its programmable platforms, Xilinx provides design services, customer training, field engineering and technical support. The Company�� PLDs include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs) that its customers program to perform logic functions, and EPPs. Xilinx�� products are offered to electronic equipment manufacturers in end markets, such as wired and wireless communications, industrial, scientific and medical, aerospace and defense, audio, video and broadcast, consumer, automotive and data processing. The Company sells its products globally through independent domestic and foreign distributors and through direct sales to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by a network of independent sales representative firms and by a direct sales management organization. In January 2011, the Company acquired AutoESL Design Technologies, Inc. In August 2012, the Company acquired embedded Linux solutions provider PetaLogix.
Product Families
The 7 series devices that comprise the Company�� 28-nanometer (nm) product families are fabricated on a high-K metal gate 28-nm process technology. These devices are based on an architecture, which enables design and IP portability and re-use across all families, as well as provides designers the ability to achieve the appropriate combination of I/O support, performance, feature quantities, packaging and power consumption to address a range of applications. The 7 series devices consist of! three families: Virtex-7 FPGA, Kintex-7 FPGAs and Artix-7 FPGAs. The Zynq-7000 family is the family of Xilinx EPPs. The Virtex-6 FPGA family consists of 13 devices and is the sixth generation in the Virtex series of FPGAs.
Virtex-6 FPGAs are fabricated on a high-performance, 40-nm process technology. There are three Virtex-6 families: Virtex-6 LXT FPGAs, Virtex-6 SXT FPGAs and Virtex-6 HXT FPGAs. The Spartan-6 family is the PLD industry�� 45-nm high-volume FPGA family, consisting of 11 devices in two product families: Spartan-6 LX FPGAs and Spartan-6 LXT FPGAs. The Virtex-5 FPGA family consists of 26 devices in five product families: Virtex-5 LX FPGAs for logic-intensive designs, Virtex-5 LXT FPGAs for high-performance logic with serial connectivity, Virtex-5 SXT FPGAs for high-performance DSP with serial connectivity, Virtex-5 FXT FPGAs for embedded processing with serial connectivity and Virtex-5 TXT FPGAs for high-bandwidth serial connectivity. Prior generation Virtex families include Virtex-4, Virtex-II Pro, Virtex-II, Virtex-E and the original Virtex family. Spartan family FPGAs include 90-nm Spartan-3 FPGAs, the Spartan-3E family and the Spartan-3A family. Prior generation Spartan families include Spartan-IIE, Spartan-II, Spartan XL and the original Spartan family.
Design Platforms and Services
The Company offers three types of programmable platforms. The Base Platform is the delivery vehicle for all of its new silicon offerings used to develop and run customer-specific software applications and hardware designs. The Base Platform consists of FPGA silicon; Integrated Software Environment (ISE) Design Suite design environment; integration support of optional third-party synthesis, simulation, and signal integrity tools; reference designs; development boards and IP. The Domain-Specific Platform targets one of the three primary Xilinx FPGA user profiles: the embedded processing developer; the DSP developer; or the logic/connectivity developer. The Market-S! pecific P! latform enables software or hardware developers to build and run their specific application or solution. Built for specific markets, such as automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications, audio, video and broadcast, industrial, or scientific and medical, the Market-Specific Platform integrates both the Base and Domain-Specific Platforms.
During April 2012, Xilinx introduced the Vivado Design Suite. Vivado supports Xilinx 7 series FPGAs and Zynq EPPs. Xilinx and various third parties offer hundreds of no charge and fee-bearing IP core licenses covering Ethernet, memory controllers Interlaken and PCIe interface, as well as domain-specific IP in the areas of embedded, DSP and connectivity, and market-specific IP cores. The Company also offers development kits, including hardware, design tools, IP and reference designs. Xilinx offers a range of configuration products, including one-time programmable and in-system programmable storage devices to configure Xilinx FPGAs. These programmable read-only memory (PROM) products support all of the Company�� FPGA devices. Xilinx and certain third parties have developed and offer a ecosystem of IP, boards, tools, services and support through the Xilinx alliance program. Xilinx also works with these third parties to promote its programmable platforms through third-party tools, IP, software, boards and design services. Xilinx engineering services provide customers with engineering, ranging from hands-on training to full design creation and implementation.
The Company competes with Altera Corporation, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation and Microsemi Corporation.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By kcpl]
Altera�(ALTR)'s performance has been weak as shares are down almost 9% so far this year as compared to peers such as Xilinx (XLNX) and Lattice Semiconductor.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $600.61 million.
Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.94 per share on revenue of $1.07 billion.
- [By Beth Piskora]
They are listed below:
Altera (ALTR)��ielding 1.7%
Apple (AAPL)��ielding 2.5%
Applied Materials (AMAT)��ielding 2.6%
Cisco (CSCO)��ielding 2.9%
EMC Corp. (EMC)��ielding 1.5%
International Business Machines (IBM)��ielding 2.0%
KLA-Tencor (KLAC)��ielding 3.2%
Microchip Technology (MCHP)��ielding 3.6%
Oracle (ORCL)��ielding 1.5%
Qualcomm (QCOM)��ielding 2.1%
Texas Instruments (TXN)��ielding 2.9%
Xilinx (XLNX)��ielding 2.3%
Subscribe to S&P's The Outlook here��/P>
- [By Rich Smith]
The Department of Defense awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT ) a $104.7 million defense contract Monday -- but semiconductor maker Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX ) could be the real winner in this contract.
Top 10 Semiconductor Stocks To Own For 2014: M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc (MTSI)
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (M/A-COM), incorporated on March 25, 2009, is a provider of high-performance analog semiconductor solutions for uses in wireless and wireline applications across the radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave spectrum. The Company manages has one segment, which is semiconductors. The Company offers over 2,700 standard and custom devices, which includes integrated circuits (IC), multi-chip modules, power pallets and transistors, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components and complete subsystems, across 37 product lines serving over 6,000 end customers in four primary markets. The Company's semiconductor products are electronic components that the Company's customers incorporate into their larger electronic systems, such as point-to-point wireless backhaul radios, radar, automobile navigation systems, digital cable television (CATV) set-top boxes, magnetic resonance imaging systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. In February 2014, M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc announced that its subsidiary Mindspeed Technologies Inc completed the sale of assets of its wireless infrastructure business unit to Intel Corporation.
The Company's primary markets are Networks, which includes CATV, cellular backhaul, cellular infrastructure and fiber optic applications; Aerospace and Defense (A&D); Automotive, which includes global positioning system (GPS) modules sold to the automotive industry; and Multi-market, which includes industrial, medical, mobile communications and scientific applications. The Company operates a single Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and silicon semiconductor fab at its Lowell, Massachusetts headquarters, which the Company is in the process of updating to include Gallium Nitride (GaN) fabrication operations as well. The Company also utilizes external semiconductor foundries to supply the Company with additional capacity in periods of high demand and to provide the Company access to additional process technolog! ies. The ability to utilize a broad array of internal process technologies as well as commercially available foundry technologies allows the Company to select the appropriate technology to solve the Company's customers' needs.
The Company offers high-performance analog semiconductor products for both wireless and wireline applications across the frequency spectrum from RF to millimeterwave. The Company regularly develops high-value products to serve its customers in four primary markets: Networks, A&D, Multi-market and Automotives.
Aerospace & Defense
In the A&D market, military applications require more advanced electronic systems, such as radar warning receivers, communications data links and tactical radios, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), RF jammers, electronic countermeasures and smart munitions. Military applications are becoming more sophisticated, favoring higher performance semiconductor ICs based on GaAs and GaN technology due to their high power density, improved power efficiency and broadband capability. Radar systems for mapping and targeting missions are undergoing a transition from existing mechanically-scanned radar products to a new generation of active electronically-scanned array (AESA) based products. Consisting of hundreds or thousands of transmit/receive modules commonly based on GaAs and increasingly on GaN technology, AESAs deliver greater speed, range, resolution and reliability over mechanically-scanned radar products that utilize a single transmitter and receiver with mechanical steering. Military communications employing wireless infrastructure and tactical radios in the field remain critical for allowing geographically dispersed users to exchange information quickly and efficiently. UAVs and their underlying semiconductor content requires designs to meet rigorous specifications for high performance, small size, and low power consumption.
Automotive
The Automotive category includes GPS modules the Company sel! ls to the! automotive industry. Semiconductor content in automobiles is projected to grow in order to offer connectivity, safety, performance and navigation features.
Multi-market
In Multi-market, the Company's products are used in industrial, medical, mobile communications, test and measurement and scientific applications. In the medical industry, the Company's custom designed non-magnetic diode product line is a critical component for certain MRI applications. The Company offers a broad range of standard and custom ICs, modules and complete subsystems across 37 product lines. The Company's product portfolio consists of more than 2,700 products including the key product platforms: power pallets and transistors, ICs, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components, multi-chip modules, and complete subsystems. Many of the Company's product platforms are leveraged across multiple markets and applications. For example, the Company's applications with regard to power transistor technology is leveraged across both scientific laboratory equipment applications and commercial and defense radar system applications. The Company's diode technology is used in switch filter banks of military tactical radios as well as medical imaging MRI systems.
The Company competes with Hittite Microwave Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations, Inc., RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD), Avago, Inc. (Avago), Aeroflex, Inc. (Aeroflex), Microsemi Corporation (Microsemi), TriQuint and Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings (Nasdaq: MTSI ) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 29 (Q2), M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share. - [By Monica Gerson]
Mindspeed Technologies (NASDAQ: MSPD) surged 69.02% to $5.02 in the pre-market session after M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings (NASDAQ: MTSI) announced its plans to acquire Mindspeed Technologies.
Top 10 Semiconductor Stocks To Own For 2014: GigOptix Inc (GIG)
GigOptix, Inc. (GigOptix), incorporated on March 2008, is a supplier of semiconductor and electro-optical component products that enables high-speed end to end data streaming over optical fiber and wireless telecommunications and data-communications networks globally. The Company's products convert signals between electrical and optical formats for transmitting and receiving data over fiber optic networks and between electrical and high speed radio frequencies to enable the transmission and receipt of data over wireless networks. The Company is creating both optical telecommunications and data-communications applications for fast growing markets in 10 giga bytes per second (Gbps), 40Gbps and 100Gbps drivers, receiver integrated circuits (IC), electro-optic modulator components and multi-chip-modules (MCM), as well as E-band wireless data-communications applications for high speed mobile backhaul and other high capacity wireless data transport applications. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company shipped over 150 products to over 200 customers.
The Company offers a portfolio of 10Gbps and 40Gbps electro-optical products and is developing market for 100Gbps products. The Company provides bundled solutions that consist of a few of its products, such as modulator and driver. The Company also offers a comprehensive portfolio of Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) products to support E-band wireless communication and defense markets. The Company has also developed 10Gbps vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) drivers and receivers for aerospace as well as outdoor, non-temperature controlled environments that enables higher capacity in its customers' next generation flight and data center systems.
The Company has a portfolio of products for telecommunications , data-communications, defenses and industrial applications designed for optical speeds from 3Gbps to over 100Gbps and for wireless frequencies! from zero giga hertz (GHz) to 86GHz. The Company's products support a range of data rates, protocols, transmission distances and industry standards.
The Company's portfolio consists of the product ranges, such as laser and modulator drivers for 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps applications; receiver amplifiers or Trans-impedance Amplifiers (TIAs) for 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps applications; VCSEL driver and receiver chipsets for 14 and 12 channel parallel optics applications from 3Gbps to 10Gbps; Electro-optic modulators based on the Company's TFPS technology suitable for various 40Gbps and 100Gbps modulation schemes, such as differential phase shift keying (DPSK), differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK), RZ-DQPSK and DP-QPSK; wideband monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers with flat gain response; high frequency MMIC Power Amplifiers with high gain and output power; high frequency passive attenuators and filters in small form factors, and standard cell, and structured ASIC and hybrid ASIC designs and manufacturing service for multiple markets offering information technology acquisition review (ITAR) compliance for defense applications. The Company designs and market products that amplifies electrical signals during both the transmission (amplifiers and optical drivers) and reception (TIAs) of optical signals as well as modulate optical signals in the transmission of data.
The Company's optical drivers amplify the input digital data stream that is used to modulate laser light either by direct modulation of the laser or by use of an external modulator that acts as a precise shutter to switch on and off light to create the optical data stream. The Company supplies an optimized component for each type of laser, modulator and photo-diode depending upon the speed, reach and required cost. The Company's microwave and millimeter wave amplifiers amplify small signal radio signals into more signals that can be transmitted over long distances to establish high t! hroughput! data connections or enable radar based applications. The Company's ASIC solutions are used in a number of applications such as defense and test and measurement applications to enable the high speed processing of complex signals.
The Company's product portfolio is designed to cover the range of solutions needed in these different modules. The Company's product portfolio consists of five product lines: GX Series, which includes serial drivers and TIA ICs devices for telecom and data-com markets; HX Series, which includes multi-channel driver and TIA ICs for short reach data-com and optical interconnect applications; LX Series, which includes TFPS modulators for high speed telecom and defense applications; EX Series, which includes amplifiers, filters and attenuators for microwave applications in defense and instrumentation, and CX Series, which includes family of ASIC solutions for custom integrated circuit design.
GX Series
The GigOptix GX Series of products services both the telecom and data-com markets with a broad portfolio of drivers and transimpedence amplifiers that address 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps speeds over distances that range from 100 meters to 10,000 kilometers. The GX Series devices are used in FiberChannel, Ethernet, synchronous optical networking (SONET)/ synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) components and those based upon the optical internetworking forum (OIF) standards.
HX Series
The GigOptix HX Series of products service the high performance computing (HPC), data-com and consumer markets with a portfolio of parallel VCSEL drivers and TIAs that address 3Gbps, 5Gbps,10Gbps, 14Gbps, 16Gbps and 25Gbps channel speeds over 100-300 meters distances in four and 12 channel configurations. The HX Series devices are used in HPC formats, Infiniband, Ethernet and optical high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) components.
LX Series
The GigOptix LX Series of products service the 40Gbps and above telecom! market f! or Mach-Zehnder modulators. The LX Series devices are based on the Company's TFPS EO material technology.
EX Series
The GigOptix EX Series of products leverages the high performance products acquired in the Endwave acquisition. In addition, it also includes the die and design techniques developed for the GX Series telecom and data-com drivers for related defense and instrumentation applications.
CX Series
The GigOptix CX Series of products offers a portfolio of distinct paths to digital and analog mixed signal ASICs with the capability of supporting designs of up to 10M gates in technologies ranging from 0.6 through 65nm. The CX Series uses the Company's technology in Structured and Hybrid ASICs to enable a generic ASIC solution that can be customized for a customer using only a few metal mask layers. The CX Series also offers ASIC services, including Analog and Mixed Signal IP into designs and taking customers designs from RTL or gate-level net list definitions to volume production with third party foundries.
The Company competes with TriQuint, Rohm, InPhi, Centellax, Semtech, Vitesse, M/A-Com, Avago, Emcore, Tyco Electronics, IPtronics. Avago, Emcore, Tyco Electronics, JDSU, Oclaro, Sumitomo, Fujitsu, Emcore, Oclaro, Hittite, Sumitomo, Hittite, RFMD, Northrop Grumman, On -Semiconductor, eSilicon, Open Silicon, Faraday, Toshiba and eASIC.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bryan Murphy]
It's admittedly overbought and due for a slight dip thanks to today's surge. But when you take a step back and look at GigOptix Inc. (NYSEMKT:GIG), there's actually a lot to be excited about if you've been mulling a trading in GIG. The trick will be getting the timing right.
Top 10 Semiconductor Stocks To Own For 2014: On Track Innovations Ltd (OTIV)
On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) designs, develops and markets solutions based on its secure contactless microprocessor-based smart card technology to address the needs of a range of markets. The Company�� products combine the benefits of both microprocessors and contactless cards. In addition to contactless microprocessor-based smart cards, it also sells products that are based on other card technologies. The Company has focused on the development of its technologies and its products based on its technological platform that consists of smart cards, smart card readers, software tools and secure communication technology. As of December 31, 2012, it offers three lines of solutions, each of which constitutes a complete system, as well as components (such as smart cards and readers) that we sell to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), for incorporation into their own products. OTI�� three vertical markets include Payment Solutions, Petroleum Systems and SmartID Solutions. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
One under-$10 technology player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a major breakout trade is On Track Innovations (OTIV), which designs, develops and markets contactless microprocessor-based smart card solutions to customers in Africa, Europe, the Far East, the Americas and Israel. This stock has been red hot over the last three months, with shares up a whopping 134%.
If you take a look at the chart for On Track Innovations, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways and consolidating over the last month and change, with shares moving between $2.70 on the downside and $3.74 on the upside. Shares of OTIV have now started to spike higher off some near-term support at $3 a share and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a major breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in OTIV if it manages to break out above its 52-week high at $3.74 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 626,538 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then OTIV will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $4.50 to $5.50 a share.
Traders can look to buy OTIV off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits just below some key near-term support levels at $3.20 or at $3 a share. One can also buy OTIV off strength once it starts to clear its 52-week high at $3.74 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
- [By Markman Advisors]
Public companies leveraging their patent portfolios, (aka "patent plays"), are getting the market's attention. Companies such as Vringo (VRNG), ParkerVision (PRKR), MGT Capital (MGT), Worlds Inc. (WDDD.OB) and others have presented trading opportunities due to their volatility while retaining the chance for a big payoff to those investors who stay the course. Yet there exist viable patent plays that are still undiscovered. Some of these so called "plays," which are not getting enough attention, are actually real companies making and selling real products or services in contrast to pure patent monetization companies. Some known examples are Single Touch Interactive (SITO.OB) and Blue Calypso (BCYP.OB). This article is focused on another one of these patent plays, On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTIV).
Top 10 Semiconductor Stocks To Own For 2014: Solitron Devices Inc (SODI)
Solitron Devices, Inc., incorporated on March 12, 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor components and related devices primarily for the military and aerospace markets. The Company manufactures a variety of bipolar and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) power transistors, power and controls hybrids, junction and power MOS field effect transistors (Power MOSFETS), field effect transistors and other related products. It's products are custom made pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products are sold to the United States government. The Company�� semiconductor products can be classified as active electronic components. The Company�� active electronic components include bipolar transistors and MOS transistors.
The Company�� semiconductor products are used as components of military, commercial, and aerospace electronic equipment, such as ground and airborne radar systems, power distribution systems, missiles, missile control systems, and spacecraft. Its products have been used on the space shuttle and on the spacecraft sent to the moon, to Jupiter (on Galileo) and, to Mars (on Global Surveyor and Mars Sojourner).
Power Transistors
The Company manufactures a variety of power bipolar transistors for applications requiring currents in the range of 0.1 ampere to 300 ampere or voltages in the range of 30 volts to 1000 volts. It also manufactures power diodes under the same military specification. In addition, it manufactures power N-Channel and P-Channel MOSFET transistors and is expanding that line in accordance with customers��requirements.
Hybrids
The Company manufactures thick film hybrids, which generally contain discrete semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, chip capacitors and thick film or thin film resistors. The hybrids are of the high-power type and are custom manufactured for military and aerospace systems. Some of the Company�� hybrids include high power voltage regulators, p! ower amplifiers, power drivers, boosters and controllers. The Company manufactures both standard and custom hybrids.
Voltage Regulators
Voltage regulators provide the power required to activate electronic components such as the integrated circuits. These circuits are found in all electronic devices from radar and missile systems to smart phones.
Field Effect Transistors
The Company manufactures about 30 different types of junction and MOS field effect transistor chips. They are used to produce over 350 different field effect transistor types. The Company�� field effect transistors conform to standard Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council designated transistors, commonly referred to as standard 2N number types. It manufactures both standard and custom field effect transistors.
The Competes with IXYS Corporation, Motorola Inc., International Rectifier, Microsemi Corporation, M.S. Kennedy Corporation, Natel Engineering Company and Sensitron Semiconductor.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Geoff Gannon] on the amount of stock you can buy and the position size you like. For me, I try not to start buying a stock that I think will never make up 10% of my portfolio. If you don�� mind having 5% positions in your portfolio, your portfolio can obviously be twice as big as mine and you can still consider buying the same small stocks I do. In terms of specific stocks, it depends on the amount of float and the volume the stock trades in an average month. We are really getting into specifics here. And I may be boring people. But if you�� like to hear more about the minutiae of how you actually buy and sell tiny stocks like these, let me know, and I��l do an article on the subject.
By the way, there is a hard and fast rule of thumb that it usually makes no sense to invest in a company with a market cap that is smaller than your portfolio. This is true for both fund and individual investors. Funds break it all the time. But, frankly, it is probably a waste of an analyst/fund manager�� time to even analyze such tiny positions relative to the size of the whole portfolio. Since even when we are discussing very small stocks we are still talking about millions and millions of dollars in market cap, this is hardly a concern for most individuals.
So, for individual investors, actual inability to acquire enough shares of a company to meaningful influence their portfolio is rarely the problem. If you bid for a stock month after month ��you��l get your shares.
The concern for individual investors is not whether buying enough shares is possible. The concern is how quickly and easily you can buy and sell. This is what we call ��iquidity.��/p>
Instead of thinking about stocks as liquid or illiquid, you should think in terms of your portfolio and your liquidity needs. It doesn't make much sense to use what I'll call an "objective" (as in stock-oriented) approach to liquidity rather than a "subjective" (as in investor-oriented) approach to liquidity.
< - [By Geoff Gannon] strong>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 company without actually getting taken private.
OPT-Sciences
This
- [By Geoff Gannon]
Solitron (SODI) sells at 74% of NCAV, has decent z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 5.3% and an ROA of 12%.
Micropac (MPAD) sells at 83% 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%.
Top 10 Semiconductor Stocks To Own For 2014: Applied Materials Inc.(AMAT)
Applied Materials, Inc. provides manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, flat panel display, solar photovoltaic (PV), and related industries worldwide. The company?s Silicon Systems Group segment offers a range of manufacturing equipment used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits. This segment provides systems that perform primary processes used in chip fabrication, including atomic layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, rapid thermal processing, chemical mechanical planarization, wet cleaning, and wafer metrology and inspection, as well as systems that etch or inspect circuit patterns on masks used in the photolithography process. Its Applied Global Services segment offers products and services designed to enhance the performance and productivity, and reduce the environmental impact of the fab operations of semiconductor, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and solar P V manufacturers. The company?s Display segment provides products for manufacturing thin film transistor LCDs for televisions, personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, smartphones, and other consumer-oriented electronic applications. Its Energy and Environmental Solutions segment offers manufacturing systems for the generation and conservation of energy, as well as manufacturing solutions for wafer-based crystalline silicon applications. This segment also provides roll-to-roll vacuum Web coating systems for deposition of a range of films on flexible substrates for functional, aesthetic, or optical properties; and roll-to-roll machine for depositing ultra-thin aluminum films for flexible packaging applications. The company serves manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and chips, flat panel LCDs, solar PV cells and modules, and other electronic devices. Applied Materials, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sue Chang and Saumya Vaishampayan]
��e recommend exposure to semiconductor capital equipment stocks as we believe the semiconductor manufacturing industry is transitioning through significant inflection points in technology over the next two to three years,��said Harlan Sur at J.P. Morgan said in a report. However, Sur initiated Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) �at neutral, noting that its valuation suggests limited upside potential. Lam gained 0.9% and Applied Materials rose 0.6%.
- [By Lu Wang]
Red Hat Inc. slumped 12 percent after billings at the largest seller of the Linux operating system trailed estimates. Homebuilders gained 2.3 percent as a group after a report showed home prices increased by the most in more than seven years and Lennar Corp.�� profit beat analyst estimates. Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) advanced 9.1 percent after agreeing to buy Tokyo Electron Ltd. for about $9.39 billion in stock.
- [By Vanina Egea] ican corporation, based in Santa Clara, Calif., in the famous Silicon Valley. It provides chipmakers with the latest equipment, and tools to make state-of-the-art chips for our everyday mobile devices (processors, flash memories, computers memories, etc.) and to improve semiconductor factory efficiency. It also produces equipment for the manufacturing of flat panel displays and solar energy (solar cells and energy efficient glass) equipment.
It has four divisions. Silicon Systems Group, handles the designs, manufacturing, and sales of equipment used to fabricate semiconductor chips. Applied Global Services�maintains, services and optimizes customers��display, semiconductors and solar fabs. The Displays division designs, manufactures and sells equipment used in flat panel display fabrication. And finally, Energy and Environmental Solutions designs, manufactures and handles the sales on equipment necessary in the fabrication of solar cells, modules and flexible electronics.
The company provides the manufacturers it sells its equipment to with services to improve the fabrication process, helping them become more efficient.
Advantages and Moat on AMAT
The thing is, Applied Materials doesn't specialize in one sector or portion of the production line like most its competitors do. The company has everything a chipmaker needs to fabricate a chip from scratch, like a Home Depot (HD) for chipmakers, competing in nearly every segment of the market. And as the chip industry continues to grow, the company continuously develops more and more complex equipment to meet the needs of a still flourishing market.
Applied Materials should start to benefit from the adoption of new mobile devices. In the words of the company's new CEO, Gary Dickerson (former president of Varian, a well-known chip equipment company acquired by Applied on 2012), tablets and smartphones nowadays generate more revenue than all the other semiconductors' electronics combine
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