Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Buy For 2014

Japanese shares fell, with the Topix (TPX) Index dropping after posting its biggest monthly advance since 1999, as earnings reports from Alps Electric Co. to Tokyo Electron Ltd. disappointed investors.

Alps Electric, a car audio maker, slumped 8.9 percent and semiconductor manufacturer Tokyo Electron dropped 4.1 percent after forecasting profit that missed analyst estimates. Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, slid 3 percent after reporting a loss six times bigger than its forecast. Tokuyama Corp., a chemicals maker, advanced the most on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average after forecasting a return to profit.

The Topix lost 0.6 percent to 1,158.37 at the close of trading in Tokyo, with about nine stocks falling for every seven that rose on the 1,711-member gauge. The measure yesterday capped a 13 percent advance for the month, its best gain since March 1999. The Nikkei 225 slid 0.4 percent to 13,799.35 today.

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Buy For 2014: Analog Devices Inc (ADI)

Analog Devices, Inc. (Analog Devices), incorporated on January 18, 1965, is engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of a range of analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing integrated circuits (ICs). The Company produces a range of products, including data converters, amplifiers and linear products, radio frequency (RF) ICs, power management products, sensors based on micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology and other sensors, and processing products, including DSP and other processors, which are designed to meet the needs of a base of customers. The Company's products are embedded inside many different types of electronic equipment, including industrial process control systems; instrumentation and measurement systems; wireless infrastructure equipment, and aerospace and defense electronics. The Company designs , manufactures and markets a range of ICs, which incorporate analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing technologies. The Company's product portfolio includes both general-purpose products used by a range of customers and applications, as well as application-specific products. On March 30, 2012, the Company acquired Multigig, Inc.

Analog Products

The Company's product portfolio includes several thousand analog ICs. The Company's analog IC customers include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and customers who build electronic subsystems for integration into larger systems. The Company is a supplier of data converter products. Data converters translate real-world analog signals into digital data and also translate digital data into analog signals. The Company is also a supplier of amplifiers. Amplifiers are used to condition analog signals. The Company provides precision, instrumentation, intermediate frequency/radio frequency (RF), broadband, and other amplifiers. The Company also offers a range of precision voltage references, which are used in a range of applications. The Company's analog product line also includes a range port! folio of RF ICs covering the RF signal chain, from RF function blocks, such as phase locked loops, frequency synthesizers, mixers, modulators, demodulators, and power detectors, to broadband and short-range single chip transceiver solutions.

The Company's RF ICs support the requirements of cellular infrastructure and a range of applications in the Company's target markets. Also within the Company's analog technology portfolio are products, which are based on MEMS technology. This technology enables the Company to build small sensors, which incorporate an electromechanical structure and the supporting analog circuitry for conditioning signals obtained from the sensing element. The Company's MEMS product portfolio includes accelerometers used to sense acceleration, gyroscopes used to sense rotation, inertial measurement units used to sense multiple degrees of freedom combining multiple sensing types along multiple axis, and MEMS microphones used to sense audio. The Company's current revenue from MEMS products is derived from the automotive end market. In addition to the Company's MEMS products, its other analog product category includes isolators. The Company's isolators have been designed for applications, such as universal serial bus isolation in patient monitors, where it allows hospitals and physicians to adopt the advances in computer technology to supervise patient health and wirelessly transmit medical records. In smart metering applications, the Company's isolators provide electrostatic discharge performance. In satellites, where any malfunction can be catastrophic, the Company's isolators help protect the power system while enabling designers to achieve small form factors. Power management & reference products make up the balance of the Company's analog sales. Those products, which include functions such as power conversion, driver monitoring, sequencing and energy management, are developed to complement analog signal chain components across core market segments from micro power, en! ergy-sens! itive battery applications to power systems in infrastructure and industrial applications.

Digital Signal Processing Products

Digital Signal Processing products (DSPs) complete the Company's product portfolio. DSPs are optimized for numeric calculations, which are essential for instantaneous, or real-time, processing of digital data generated, from analog to digital signal conversion. The Company's DSPs are designed to be fully programmable and to execute specialized software programs, or algorithms, associated with processing digitized real-time, real-world data. Programmable DSPs are designed to provide the flexibility to modify the device's function using software. The Company's DSP IC customers write their own algorithms using software development tools provided by the Company and third-party suppliers. The Company's DSPs are designed in families of products, which share common architectures and therefore can execute the same software across a range of products. The Company's customers use the Company's products to solve a range of signal processing challenges across its core market and segment focus areas within the industrial, automotive, consumer and communications end markets. As an integrated part of the Company's customers' signal chain, there are other Analog Devices products connected to its processors, including converters, audio and video codecs and power management solutions.

The Company competes with Broadcom Corporation, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., Cirrus Logic, Inc., Microchip Technology, Inc., Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies, ST Microelectronics, Intersil Corporation, Silicon Laboratories, Inc., Knowles Electronics, Texas Instruments, Inc. and Linear Technology Corporation.

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Buy For 2014: Broadcom Corporation(BRCM)

Broadcom Corporation designs and develops semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. It provides a portfolio of system-on-a-chip (SoC) and software solutions for the manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices, which enable the delivery of voice, video, data, and multimedia content to the home, office, and mobile environment. Its broadband communications products include cable modem SoCs; femtocell SoCs; MPEG/AVC/VC-1 encoders and transcoders; xDSL, passive optical network, and cable modem customer premises equipment and central office solutions; powerline networking SoCs; digital cable, direct broadcast satellite, terrestrial, and Internet protocol (IP) set-top box integrated receiver demodulators; high definition television and standard definition TV SoCs; and Blu-ray disc SoCs. The company?s mobile and wireless products comprise Wi-Fi and Bluetooth SoCs, wireless connectivity com bo chips, global positioning system SoCs, multimedia processors, applications processors, power management units, VoIP SoCs, mobile TV SoCs, and near field communications tags. Its infrastructure and networking products include Ethernet copper transceivers, Ethernet controllers and switches, backplane and optical front-end physical layer devices, security processors and adapters, and broadband processors. The company markets and sells its products through direct sales force, distributors, and manufacturers? representatives in the United States, as well as through regional offices, and a network of independent distributors and representatives in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Harding]

    Broadcom Corporation (BRCM) is the best pick for this industry due to its historic success in outperforming its peers, shown by a 15% increase in revenue as opposed to an industry average of 4%. Broadcom’s earnings also grew by a tremendous 16%. Its stock is currently trading at $30.10 and is expected to reach a price target of $45. Revenue is expected to grow by nearly 8%, as compared to a 1% increase in the related industry. Its stocks have traded in a 5 2-week range of $29.17 and $46.89. Broadcom’s market capitalization stands at $16.22 billion and its P/E ratio of 10.6x is expected to remain fairly consistent over the next year. Earnings per share of $2.7 were posted for 2011.

5 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Own For 2014: NVIDIA Corp (NVD)

NVIDIA Corporation (NVIDIA), incorporated on February 24, 1998, is engaged in creating the graphics chips used in personal computers (PCs). The Company operates in three segments: graphics processing unit (GPU) Business, professional solutions business (PSB) and consumer products business (CPB). Its mobile processors are used in cell phones, tablets and auto infotainment systems. Designers use GPUs to create visual effects in movies and create everything from golf clubs to jumbo jets. NVIDIA solutions are based on two technologies: the GPU and the mobile processor. GPUs are the engines of visual computing, the science and art of using computers to understand, create and enhance images. It has three GPU product brands: GeForce, which creates visual experiences for gamers; Quadro, which is engaged in visual computing for designers and digital artists, and Tesla, which accelerates applications for scientists and researchers. Tegra is its mobile processor and is built for applications ranging from smartphones, tablets and notebook PCs to televisions and cars. During the fiscal year ended January 29, 2012 (fiscal 2012), it acquired Icera Inc.In fiscal 2012, it launched Project Maximus, which uses the compute power of Tesla with the visualization power of Quadro to merge the design and simulation stages into one workstation. In May 2012, the Company and Intellectual Ventures announced that they jointly acquired a set of patents developed and owned by IPWireless. The portfolio comprises approximately 500 patents granted and pending in the wireless communications area, including concepts in LTE, LTE-Advanced and 3G/4G technologies.

GPU Business

The Company�� GPU business revenue includes primarily sales of its GeForce discrete and chipset products that support desktop and notebook PCs plus license fees from Intel and sales of memory products. It also accelerates video editing and high definition (HD), content creation by consumers. GeForce GPUs power PCs made by or distributed by ! PC original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), in the world. Its media and communications processor (MCP) chipsets primarily comprised of its ION motherboard GPUs, a product reaching the end of its life cycle.

Professional Solutions Business

The Company�� PSB consists of its Quadro professional workstation products and its Tesla computing products. Its Quadro products are designed to deliver the graphics performance and application compatibility for professionals. Tesla applies the processing power of its GPUs to general-purpose computing problems. Quadro products add functionality, such as photorealistic rendering, to computer-aided design workstations, and are used in professional video editing applications and for generating special effects in movies. Tesla is used in supercomputing centers and in oil exploration; other applications include accelerating drug discovery, weather simulations and derivative price modeling.

Consumer Products Business

The Company�� CPB includes its Tegra system-on-chip products for smartphones, tablets, automotive infotainment systems, and other similar devices, and Icera baseband processors. The Tegra revenues are generated by sales in smart phones and tablets. CPB also includes license, royalty, other revenue and associated costs related to video game consoles and other digital consumer electronics devices. NVIDIA Tegra mobile products implement design techniques, both inside the chips and at the system level. These technologies enhance visual display capabilities, connectivity and minimize chip and system-level power consumption. During fiscal 2012, it launched Tegra 3, quad-core mobile computing chip, bringing PC levels of performance within the power envelope of a cellular phone chip. It also launched DirectTouch.

The Company competes with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Intel, Matrox Electronics Systems Ltd., VIA Technologies, Inc., ARM Holdings plc, Broadcom Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor Inc., ! Fujitsu L! imited, Imagination Technologies Ltd., Intel, Marvell Technology Group Ltd., NEC Corporation, Qualcomm Incorporated, Renesas Technology Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Seiko Epson Corporation, ST-Ericsson, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., Imagination Technologies Group plc., HiSilicon Technologies Co., Ltd., Mediatek, Qualcomm Incorporated, Spreadtrum Communications Co., Ltd and ST-Ericsson.

Best Semiconductor Stocks To Buy For 2014: 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 Peter Hughes]

     My top stock pick for 2013 is Intel Corp. (INTC), the largest micro-chip maker in the world, designing, developing and manufacturing microprocessors for the global market.

    The stock sold off sharply (declining 33% from its April high to a low in late November) in reaction to the company lowering guidance for the second half of 2012 on slowing global economies. We believe the sell-off was overdone.

    Intel is the dominant force in the computer processor arena, having long-held the lead in new technology and chip performance.

    Smaller rival AMD very occasionally emerges as a potential threat only to see Intel leapfrog ahead again. And Intel was faulted for being slow to recognize the demand for smaller chips used in smartphones and tablets, an area currently dominated by ARM Holdings.

    But Intel is moving more aggressively into that area with its ‘Atom' chips, and acquired Infineon's wireless connectivity chip business in 2011 to support that undertaking.

    Intel has a strong balance sheet and cash flow that allows it to maintain an immense budget for R&D and the capital expenditures necessary to sustain its industry-leading manufacturing technologies, and a history of introducing new processor architectures every two years.

    The company is in solid financial shape. At the current price the shares are selling at less than 10 times estimated 2013 earnings, and pay an annual dividend of 4.2%.

    In our view, the stock is very oversold, and the stock will rebound nicely in 2013. Our upside target is $27. We suggest a ‘mental' protective stop at $17.20.

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