Investing in Semiconductor Stocks: Three Chipmakers on the Upswing

Posted on May 11, 2012 by

Deborah Baratz writes: Global semiconductor sales have been pretty listless lately, but new data suggests a turnaround is on the horizon for this sector.

In fact, one new forecast by research firm IDC predicts the rate of growth in the semiconductor sector could potentially double in the latter part of this year.

For semiconductor stocks, this newfound growth could provide a big lift in profits.

Even smaller chipmakers may have suitors knocking on their doors for takeovers as they look to increase their market share.

What does this mean for investors?

Now is the time to start looking for the next big winner in semiconductors.

Here’s why.

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Samsung Launches Consumer-Facing Digital Campaign to Raise Awareness of Samsung Memory

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in advanced semiconductor technology solutions, today launched a digital advertising campaign focused on the significance of memory in PCs, smartphones and other digital devices, and the many advantages of Samsung memory.

By visualizing user experiences with a humorous touch, the new consumer-focused video ads accentuate how important it is to choose electronic devices with memory components of high quality, high performance and low power consumption such as Samsung memory. Traditionally, Samsung’s advertising campaigns for its memory business, such as ‘Green Memory,’ have focused on print messaging in global business and trade press. This time, Samsung is moving one step closer to consumers, using video ads.

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Broadcom CEO Sees Consolidation Ahead In Mobile-Chip Sector

Posted on May 7, 2012 by

Consolidation is ahead for the wireless semiconductor sector, according to the chief executive of chip maker Broadcom Corp. (BRCM), with many companies likely to face either a financial or technological squeeze.

Scott McGregor, speaking at an investor conference, said the high cost and difficulty of developing new processors for smartphones and tablet computers will cause many chip makers to exit the market.

He said companies fall into one of four categories–those that have the money and technology to create products, those that have the technical capability but don’t have the cash, those that have a lot of money but not a lot of technology, and startups or companies without much scale. McGregor said he believes there are only about a handful of companies that can offer a complete product to customers.

“Some people are going to give up, some people will sell out and some people will continue to push forward,” he said.

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Two tech firms to create 80 jobs

Posted on May 4, 2012 by

German semiconductor firm ZMDI is to create 35 highly-skilled engineering positions for graduates and technicians over the next five years.

The company today confirmed plans to establish an R&D centre in Limierck which will focus on the development of products for the smart power management sector.

Making the announcement this morning, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said the decision to base the centre in Limerick was a major endorsement of the country’s capabilities in the area of analog and mixed signal electronics and R&D.

Zentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden AG (ZMDI) is a supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors for the mobile medical, industrial automation and consumer markets.

The company designs and markets application-specific standard products (ASSPs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

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Keeping High-Power Semiconductor Devices Cool

Posted on May 3, 2012 by

A group of researchers at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering have developed a technique to keep cool a semiconductor material used in everything from traffic lights to electric cars.

Gallium Nitride (GaN), a semiconductor material found in bright lights since the 1990s, is used in wireless applications due to its high efficiency and high voltage operation. However, the applications and market share of GaN electronics is limited because it is difficult to remove heat from them.

That could change due to a technique developed by the Nano-Device Laboratory research group led by Alexander Balandin, professor of electrical engineering and founding chair of Materials Science and Engineering program.

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Vitesse Semiconductor 2Q Loss Narrows As Expenses Fall

Posted on May 2, 2012 by

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp.’s (VTSS) fiscal second-quarter loss narrowed as the company recorded a decrease in expenses, though revenue continued to fall.

Shares jumped 16% to $3.25 after hours as Vitesse’s adjusted per-share results beat analyst expectations.

The maker of integrated circuits for communications networks had posted adjusted bottom-line results in the red in the prior five quarters. Sales have also declined in recent periods amid softening global demand.

“Although we expect continued market pressures, we are positioned to drive revenue growth from new products in the second half of the fiscal year,” said Chief Executive Chris Gardner.

For the period ended March 31, Vitesse reported a loss of $6.2 million, or 25 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $9 million, or 37 cents a share. Excluding stock-based compensation, loss on extinguishment of debt and other items, the most recent period’s earnings were break-even compared with a year-earlier loss of 9 cents a share.

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Javelin Semiconductor Introduces Low-Band 3G Power Amplifiers with Industry’s Highest Power Efficiency

Posted on February 27, 2012 by

Javelin Semiconductor, Inc., today announced the JAV5505 Band V and JAV5508 Band VIII 3G CMOS power amplifiers (PAs) that deliver the industry’s highest power efficiency at all output power levels. Javelin’s novel PA architecture enables a monolithic solution with high efficiency in high, medium and low power modes. When averaged across all output power levels, the JAV5505 and JAV5508 current consumption are below 19mA, which is more than a 30 percent reduction over competing devices. At low power levels, the JAV5505 and JAV5508 reduce current by up to 60 percent. This reduction in current can be achieved with a direct connection to the battery, eliminating the need for a DC-DC converter for the PA.

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A lot of demand for semiconductors will come from the government

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

Ajai Chowdhry, one of the six founders of the HCL group, has been lobbying the government to refocus on hardware and electronics rather than just promoting software exports. He became president and chief executive of hardware and services company HCL Infosystems Ltd in 1994 and has been its chairman since 1999. Chowdhry is part of many government panels, including the information technology hardware task force set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the committee to draft the 11th Five-Year Plan for electronics hardware in India, and India Design Council—a group established by the government to constitute the National Design Policy. He is also chairman of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad. In an interview, he talks about the synergy in these multiple roles and his vision for an electronics ecosystem. Edited excerpts:

What is the status of the IT hardware task force’s recommendations?

The task force was set up in 2009 and there were around 165 recommendations aimed at changing the electronic design and manufacturing environment in the country. We worked with the government to put together five big recommendations.

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Critical Alerts For Pepsi, Bunge, ON Semiconductor, Cree, and KB Home Released By Seven Summits Research

Posted on February 10, 2012 by

To see what our analysts have discovered about these stocks read the Seven Summits Strategic Investments’ PriceWatch Alerts at http://www.iotogo.com/s/021012B (Note: You may have to copy this link into your browser then press the [ENTER] key.)

Today’s PriceWatch Alerts cover the following stocks: PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Bunge (NYSE: BG), ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ONNN), Cree (Nasdaq: CREE), and KB Home (NYSE: KBH).

In today’s unsure markets these brief PriceWatch Alerts contain concise, detailed strategies for each covered stock and include position protection tactics designed to potentially defend investors from unexpected market shifts. While other market reports only provide stock news and opinion, we offer strategies that position investments against uncertainty and increase chances of making a profit, even if a stock goes down.

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ON Semiconductor Showcases Breakthrough Power Products For Reducing Energy Consumption In Standby Mode At APEC 2012

Posted on February 6, 2012 by

ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ONNN), a premier supplier of high performance silicon solutions for energy efficient electronics, continues to develop innovative technology and products that allows it to offer a broad portfolio of power semiconductor solutions to the market.

Among the new ON Semiconductor products to be demonstrated at APEC this year are:

The NCP1246 fixed-frequency current mode controller achieves extremely low no load input power consumption in AC-DC adapters. This device contains integrated X2 capacitor discharge circuitry, which eliminates the need for the X2 capacitor discharge resistors. The NCP1246 is also capable of entering a low consumption sleep mode when used in conjunction with the NCP4353 or NCP4354. This combination of products provides a market leading no load input power consumption of <10 milliwatt (mW) in a 65 watt (W) notebook adapter.

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