Sunday, January 18, 2015

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy For 2014

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This week, these five stocks have the worst ratings in Earnings Momentum, one of the eight Fundamental Categories on Portfolio Grader.

FNB United () is a bank holding company. FNBN also gets F’s in Equity and Cash Flow. .

Hot Casino Companies To Own For 2015: ARM Holdings PLC (ARMH)

ARM Holdings plc (ARM), incorporated on October 16, 1990, designs microprocessors, physical intellectual property (IP) and related technology and software, and sells development tools. As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated in three business segments: the Processor Division (PD), the Physical IP Division (PIPD) and the System Design Division (SDD). ARM licenses and sells its technology and products to international electronics companies, which in turn manufacture, markets and sells microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and application-specific standard processors (ASSPs) based on ARM�� technology to systems companies for incorporation into a range of end products. It also licenses and sells development tools directly to systems companies and provides support services to its licensees, systems companies and other systems designers.

ARM processor architecture and physical IP is used in embedded microprocessor applications, including cellular phones, digital televisions, mobile computers and personal computer peripherals, smart cards and microcontrollers. ARM�� principal geographic markets are Europe, the United States and Asia Pacific. ARM�� product offering includes microprocessor Cores: RISC microprocessor cores, including specific functions, such as video and graphics IP and on-chip fabric IP; embedded software; physical IP; development tools, and support and maintenance services.

Processor Division

The PD encompasses those resources that are centered on microprocessor cores, including specific functions, such as graphics IP, fabric IP, embedded software IP and configurable digital signal processing (DSP) IP. Service revenues consist of design consulting services and revenues from support, maintenance and training.

Physical IP Division

The PIPD is focused on building blocks for translation of a circuit design into actual silicon. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company�� total av! erage PIPD headcount was 557. ARM is a provider of physical IP components for the design and manufacture of integrated circuits, including systems-on-chip (SoCs). ARM Artisan physical IP products include embedded memory, standard cell and input/output components. Artisan physical IP also includes a limited portfolio of analog and mixed-signal products. ARM�� physical IP components are developed for a range of process geometries ranging from 20 nanometer - 250 nanometer. ARM licenses its products to customers for the design and manufacture of integrated circuits used in complex, high-volume applications, such as portable computing devices, communication systems, cellular phones, microcontrollers, consumer multimedia products, automotive electronics, personal computers and workstations and many others.

ARM�� embedded memory components include random access memories, read only memories and register files. These memories are provided in the form of a configurable memory compiler, which allows the customer to generate the appropriate configuration for the given application. ARM�� memory components include many configurable features, such as power-down modes, low-voltage data retention and fully static operation, as well as different transistor options to trade off performance and power. In addition, ARM�� memory components include built-in test interfaces that support the industry test methodologies and tools. ARM memory components also offer redundant storage elements.

ARM�� memory components are designed to enable the chip designer maximum flexibility to achieve the optimum power, performance, and density trade-off. ARM offers standard cell components that are optimized for high performance, high density or ultra high density. ARM logic products deliver optimal performance, power and area when building ARM Processors, Graphics, Video and Fabric IP along with general SoC subsystem implementation. ARM delivers physical interface for a range of DDR SDRAM (double-data rate s! ynchronou! s dynamic random-access memory) applications ranging from mission critical applications to low-power memory sub-systems. Silicon on Insulator (SOI) products is an alternative methodology to traditional semiconductor fabrication techniques.

System Design Division

The SDD is focused on the tools and models used to create and debug software and system-on-chip (SoC) designs. ARM�� software development tools help a software design engineer deliver products right the first time. Engineers use these tools in the design and deployment of code, from applications running on open operating systems right through to low-level firmware. The ARM Development Studio is a hardware components that allow the software designer to connect to a real target system and control the system for the purposes of finding errors in the software. The ARM DSTREAM unit allows the software developer to control the software running on the prototype product and examine the internal state of the prototype product. ARM Development Boards are ideal systems for prototyping ARM-based products. The ARM Microcontroller Development Kit supports ARM-based microcontrollers and 8051-based microcontrollers from companies, such as Analog Devices, Atmel, Freescale, Fujitsu, NXP, Samsung, Sharp, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Toshiba. The ARM Microcontroller Development Kit is used by developers who are building products and writing software using standard off-the-shelf microcontrollers.

The ARM Microprocessor Families

ARM architecture processors offers a range of performance options in the ARM7 family, ARM9 family, ARM11 family, ARM Cortex family and ARM SecurCore family. The ARM architecture gives systems designers a choice of processor cores at different performance/price points. The ARM7 offers 32-bit architecture capable of operating from 8/16-bit memory on an 8/16-bit bus through the implementation of the Thumb instruction set. The ARM9 family consists of a range of microprocessors in ! the 150-2! 50MHz range. Each processor has been designed for a specific application or function, such as an application processor for a feature phone or running a wireless fidelity (WiFi) protocol stack. The ARM9 family consists of a range of microprocessors in the 150-250 megahertz range. The ARM11 family consists of a range of microprocessors in the 300-600 megahertz range. ARM Cortex family is ARM�� family of processor cores based on version 7 of the ARM Architecture. The family is split into three series: A Series, A Series and M Series.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Evan Niu, CFA]

    Positioned at the heart of the mobile revolution, ARM Holdings (NASDAQ: ARMH  ) has a unique perspective on where computing is headed. The British company just reported a strong second quarter and shares are enjoying healthy gains today. It's possible that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) had a little something to do with driving ARM's quarter.

  • [By Travis Hoium]

    Playing from behind
    Up until now, ARM-based� (NASDAQ: ARMH  ) �chips have dominated tablets and Intel has been shut out. Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) newest full-sized iPad uses an ARMv7-based A6X chip�and the iPhone 5 runs a less-powerful A6 chip. Apple's giant market share in both product categories means ARM has a large market share in both tablets and smartphones.

  • [By John Udovich]

    Among the recent news from chip stock Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (NYSE: AMD) was a partnership with ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) that�� intended to give the company a leg up on rivals like Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA). I should�point out that�we�previously had�an open position in Advanced Micro Devices in�our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio from last summer up until�late January when we locked in a small loss.�We bailed not because we don�� believe in�the company�� potential over the long term, but because our SCN EO�is a�trading portfolio rather than a long term buy and hold portfolio. Moreover,�AMD�� shares�had sunk�again�after�the company�reported earnings ��a repeat performance of what happened after three�previous earnings reports. With that in mind, here is a quick look at some of the latest good news AMD is producing:

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy For 2014: Universal Display Corp (OLED)

Universal Display Corporation, incorporated on April, 24, 1985, is engaged in the research, development and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in flat panel display, solid state lighting and other product applications. The Company�� primary business strategy is to develop and license its OLED technologies to product manufacturers for use in these applications. Its primary business is to develop and license its OLED technologies to manufacturers of products for display applications, such as cell phones, portable media devices, tablets, laptop computers and televisions, and specialty and general lighting products; and develop new OLED materials and sell the materials to those product manufacturers. The Company sells its OLED materials to customers for evaluation and use in commercial OLED products. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owns, exclusively license or have the sole right to sublicense more than 3,000 patents issued and pending worldwide. On July 23, 2012, the Company entered into a Patent Sale Agreement (the Agreement) with FUJIFILM. Under the Agreement, FUJIFILM sold more than 1,200 OLED related patents and patent applications.

Phosphorescent Organic Light Emitting Diode Technologies

Phosphorescent OLEDs utilize specialized materials and device structures that allow OLEDs to emit light through a process known as phosphorescence. Traditional fluorescent OLEDs emit light through an inherently less efficient process. Theory and experiment show that phosphorescent OLEDs exhibit device efficiencies up to four times higher than those exhibited by fluorescent OLEDs. Phosphorescence substantially reduces the power requirements of an OLED and is potentially useful in displays for hand-held devices, such as Smartphone��, where battery power is often a limiting factor. Phosphorescence is also important for area displays such as televisions, where higher device efficiency and lower heat generation may enable longer ! product lifetimes and increased energy efficiency.

Additional Proprietary Organic Light Emitting Diode Technologies

Additional OLED Technologies include FOLED Flexible OLEDs, Thin-Film Encapsulation, UniversalP2OLED Printable Phosphorescent OLEDs, OVJP Organic Vapor Jet Printing, OVPD Organic Vapor Phase Deposition and TOLED Transparent OLEDs. The Company is working on a number of technologies required for the fabrication of OLEDs on flexible substrates. As of December 31, 2012, it was conducting research and development on FOLED technologies internally, under several of its United States government programs and in connection with the government-sponsored Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University (ASU). The Company announced its, patented encapsulation technology for the packaging of flexible OLEDs and other thin-film devices, as well as for use as a barrier film for plastic substrates. Its approach for manufacturing a small molecule OLED, including a PHOLED, is based on a vacuum thermal evaporation (VTE) process.

The Company has partnered with Aixtron AG, which is a manufacturer of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition equipment, to develop and qualify equipment for the fabrication of OLED displays utilizing the OVPD process. It has developed a technology for the fabrication of OLEDs that have transparent cathodes. TOLEDs use a transparent cathode and either a transparent, reflective or opaque metal anode.

Organic Light Emitting Diode Materials Supply Business

The Company supplies its proprietary UniversalPHOLED materials to display manufacturers and others. The Company qualifies its materials in OLED devices before shipment in order to ensure that they meet required specifications. During 2012, the Company continued supplying its proprietary UniversalPHOLED materials to SDC for use in its commercial AMOLED display products and for its development efforts. During 2012, the Company also supplied its UniversalPHOLED materials to! LG Displ! ay for use in its commercial AMOLED display products, to Tohoku Pioneer for use in its commercial PMOLED display products, and Konica Minolta for its manufacture of commercial OLED lighting products. During 2012, the Company also supplied its proprietary OLED materials to these and various other product manufacturers for evaluation and for purposes of development, manufacturing qualification and product testing.

The Company competes with Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak), Cambridge Display Technology, Ltd. (CDT), Sumitomo Chemical Company (Sumitomo), Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Idemitsu Kosan), Merck KGaA and BASF Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Simon Erickson]

    Rule Breakers�analyst Simon Erickson breaks down the story, including the suggested cost of the latest and greatest televisions. He also offers three important takeaways for investors -- including how this development could affect Universal Display (NASDAQ: OLED  ) , Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) , and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) .

  • [By Evan Niu, CFA]

    What: Shares of Universal Display (NASDAQ: OLED  ) got crushed today by as much as 17% after the OLED specialist reported earnings.

    So what: Revenue in the first quarter was $15 million, which translated into a net loss of $4.8 million, or $0.10 per share. Both figures either met or beat consensus estimates, which were perched at $14.4 million in revenue and a $0.10-per-share loss. However, investors may have been rattled by margin concerns.

  • [By Steve Symington and Alison Southwick]

    Shares of Universal Display (NASDAQ: OLED  ) have fallen more than 15% since the company reported disappointing earnings in May, but Mr. Market may have gotten this one wrong, says Fool contributor Steve Symington in the following interview with the Fool's Alison Southwick.

Top 5 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 Ashraf Eassa]

    There's value in designing custom processors
    When Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM  ) threw in the proverbial towel on its cellular efforts, a pretty strong argument could have been made that Apple was a likely buyer, as it has shown a tendency to want to keep as much non-trivial silicon as possible in-house.�

  • [By Vinay Singh]

    The only close competitor to Snapdragon 800 is NVIDIA�(NVDA)'s fourth generation Tegra chips, Tegra 4i, which are expected to be launched in the beginning of next year, and Broadcom�� (BRCM) recently launched BCM21892. The Tegra 4i will be half the size of Snapdragon 800 processor and BCM21892 is currently the smallest LTE 4G enabled chip in the industry. The smaller size of the chips makes them cheaper to produce and more energy efficient. However, Qualcomm�� earlier launch of its Snapdragon 800 processor with an LTE ��dvanced feature places it in an advantageous position, as there is no other competing product.

  • [By Ashraf Eassa]

    No. 2: Broadcom
    As I wrote previously, approximately 28.3% of Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM  ) 's mobile and wireless business comes from the sale of chips to Apple. These are generally connectivity combo chips, though Broadcom also supplies touch controllers into Apple's iDevices, according to numerous iFixit teardowns.

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy For 2014: Celestica Inc (CLS)

Celestica Inc. (Celestica), incorporated on September 27, 1996, is a provider of supply chain solutions globally to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and service providers in the communications, consumer, computing and diversified end markets. The Company has operating network in Americas, Asia and Europe. The products and services it provides serve a range of end products, including smartphones; servers; networking, wireless and telecommunications equipment; storage devices; aerospace and defense electronics, such as in-flight entertainment and guidance systems; healthcare products; audiovisual equipment; printer supplies; peripherals; semiconductor capital equipment, and a range of industrial and green technology electronic equipment, including solar panels and inverters. In June 2011, Celestica acquired the semiconductor equipment contract manufacturing operations of Brooks Automation, Inc. In September 2012, the Company acquired D&H Manufacturing Company. D&H is a manufacturer of precision machined components and assemblies, primarily for the semiconductor capital equipment market.

Celestica offers a range of services, including design, manufacturing, engineering, order fulfillment, logistics and after-market services. The Company uses enterprise resource planning and supply chain management systems to optimize materials management from suppliers through to its customers.

Its global design services and solutions architects are focused on opportunities that span the entire product lifecycle. It also leverages its CoreSim Technology to minimize design revisions. It has developed its Green Services to help its customers comply with environmental legislation, such as those relating to the removal of hazardous substances and waste management/recycling. Its services help the customers design, prototype, introduce, manufacture, test, ship, takeback, repair, refurbish, reuse, recycle and properly dispose of end-of-life (EOL) products. Prototyping is a critical early-stage p! rocess in the development of new products. It uses technologies in the assembly and testing of the products. Its failure analysis capabilities concentrate on identifying the root cause of product failures and determining corrective actions. It has a management system that focuses on continual process improvement.

The Company competes with Benchmark Electronics, Inc., Flextronics International Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Jabil Circuit, Inc., Plexus Corp. and Sanmina-SCI Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Celestica (NYSE: CLS  ) reported earnings on April 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Celestica met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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