Semiconductor exchange traded funds (ETFs) are getting a boost from sector component Micron (NYSE: MU), but the sector may face headwinds as the short sellers and technicalities are a factor.
The semiconductor sector is doing better than it has in more than three years, but some worry that it may be nearing a top. Some analysts forecast that any pullback in the market might spark a sell-off in semis, reports Rodrigo Campos for Reuters. For now, though, the markets are flying high and we’re coming off a strong earnings season.
That often bodes well for semiconductors, beneficiaries of increased corporate IT spending.
Earlier this week the sector did get a shot of strength as shares of Micron are turning in one of the sector’s best performances, with the memory chip maker currently up by 3.8 %. Shares are on pace to close at their highest price since August of 2007, reports RTT staff writer for RTT News.
Is there a pullback in store? Maybe, but for now, you can’t deny that both SPDR S&P Semiconductor (NYSEArca: XSD) (of which Micron is 4.6%) and iShares PHLX SOXX Semiconductor (NYSEArca: SOXX) are more than 20% above their long-term trend lines.
Disclosure NONE.
Showing posts with label Semiconductors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Semiconductors. Show all posts
Monday, February 21, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Intel (INTC) to Build $5B Facility in Arizona
The announcement was made by Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini during a visit by President Barack Obama at an Intel facility in Hillsboro, Ore.
“The investment positions our manufacturing network for future growth,” said Brian Krzanich, senior vice president and general manager, Manufacturing and Supply Chain. “This fab will begin operations on a process that will allow us to create transistors with a minimum feature size of 14 nanometers. For Intel, manufacturing serves as the underpinning for our business and allows us to provide customers and consumers with leading-edge products in high volume."
The company said that the construction will begin in the middle of this year and is expected to be completed in 2013.
Disclosure I am long INTC shares.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Intel Keeps the Bears at Bay
Worries about Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) future appear to be premature, for now.
The world’s largest chipmaker said after the closing bell Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit jumped 48%, easily beating what Wall Street had expected.
And next quarter appears safe too: Intel guided first-quarter revenue and gross margins above analysts’ expectations.
The report continued the upward momentum in the chipmaker’s shares, which have been rising this week after shares had fallen about 6% in the past month — underperforming both the semiconductor sector as a whole, as well as the broader market.
In after-hours trading, the stock tacked on another 1.7% to $21.71.
Perhaps even more importantly, the news suggests that the transition assumed to be underway from personal computers to tablets and other mobile computing options is far from complete, and that Intel can maybe continue to succeed while trying to lodge a foothold in the mobile-device chip space.
Specifically, Intel said net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose to $3.4 billion, to 59 cents a share, from $2.3 billion, or 40 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 8% to $11.5 billion.
Wall Street analysts, on average, had been expecting the company to post earnings of 53 cents a share on revenue of $11.4 billion.
Intel also said gross margins came in at 67%, while average selling prices for the company’s microprocessors was up slightly from the third quarter.
The company continues to be bullish on margins, saying they would be 64%, plus or minus a couple percentage points, in the first quarter, slightly above Street forecasts.
But with the crowd-pleasing press release that offered up to Wall Street the top- and bottom-line upside surprise came the figures that investors are most concerned about: namely, the appearance that growth is slowing in the company’s PC client business, which is 70% of Intel’s revenue.
That division grew 14% year-over-year three months ago; on Thursday, Intel said fourth-quarter PC client revenue rose only 3.5%. Those numbers dovetail a little too conveniently with research firm Gartner’s announcement on Wednesday that it was lowering its fourth-quarter PC growth forecast to 3.1% from 4.8%.
For investors who have seen this stock trade between $18 and $24 for nearly 18 months, and may see it climb to $22 on Friday off this earnings report, it may be time to wonder how much upside is left while Intel seeks a better growth model.
Disclosure I am long INTC shares.
The world’s largest chipmaker said after the closing bell Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit jumped 48%, easily beating what Wall Street had expected.
The report continued the upward momentum in the chipmaker’s shares, which have been rising this week after shares had fallen about 6% in the past month — underperforming both the semiconductor sector as a whole, as well as the broader market.
In after-hours trading, the stock tacked on another 1.7% to $21.71.
Perhaps even more importantly, the news suggests that the transition assumed to be underway from personal computers to tablets and other mobile computing options is far from complete, and that Intel can maybe continue to succeed while trying to lodge a foothold in the mobile-device chip space.
Specifically, Intel said net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose to $3.4 billion, to 59 cents a share, from $2.3 billion, or 40 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 8% to $11.5 billion.
Wall Street analysts, on average, had been expecting the company to post earnings of 53 cents a share on revenue of $11.4 billion.
Intel also said gross margins came in at 67%, while average selling prices for the company’s microprocessors was up slightly from the third quarter.
The company continues to be bullish on margins, saying they would be 64%, plus or minus a couple percentage points, in the first quarter, slightly above Street forecasts.
But with the crowd-pleasing press release that offered up to Wall Street the top- and bottom-line upside surprise came the figures that investors are most concerned about: namely, the appearance that growth is slowing in the company’s PC client business, which is 70% of Intel’s revenue.
That division grew 14% year-over-year three months ago; on Thursday, Intel said fourth-quarter PC client revenue rose only 3.5%. Those numbers dovetail a little too conveniently with research firm Gartner’s announcement on Wednesday that it was lowering its fourth-quarter PC growth forecast to 3.1% from 4.8%.
For investors who have seen this stock trade between $18 and $24 for nearly 18 months, and may see it climb to $22 on Friday off this earnings report, it may be time to wonder how much upside is left while Intel seeks a better growth model.
Disclosure I am long INTC shares.
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