On Monday, small cap Taiwanese advanced display maker�Himax Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: HIMX) announced an agreement with Google�(NASDAQ: GOOG) where the later agreed to invest in the company's subsidiary, Himax Display Inc, fueling ever more speculation about Google Glass���a pair of glasses that will act like a wearable�smartphone. But what do we know about this Taiwanese small cap and is it enough for new investors to jump aboard?
Understand Himax TechnologiesFounded in 2001 and headquartered in Taiwan, small cap Himax Technologies is a fabless semiconductor provider focused on display imagine processing technologies and its considered to be a leader in display driver ICs and timing controllers used in many consumer electronics devices like TVs, laptops, monitors, mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras and�car navigation. What Himax Technologies does is it designs and provides controllers for touch sensor displays, LCOS micro-displays used in palm-size projectors and head-mount displays, LED driver ICs, power management ICs, and chipsets for TVs and monitors. The�company also offers digital camera solutions used in a wide variety of applications like mobile phone, tablet, laptop, TV, PC camera, automobile, security and medical devices. Finally, its worth noting that Himax Technologies has more than 1,500 patents on three continents�for its technologies.
Top 5 Electric Utility Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Peregrine Semiconductor Corp (PSMI)
Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (Peregrine), incorporated in February 1990, is engaged in the design, manufacturing and marketing radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets. The Company is provider of RFICs. Its products include RF switches-antenna, RFswitches-broadband and general purpose, digital attenuators, synthesizers, mixers/upconverters, prescalers, variable gain amplifiers, digitally tunable capacitors, DC-DC converters and power amplifiers. Its UltraCMOS technology enables the design, manufacture, and integration of multiple radio frequency (RF), mixed signal, and digital functions on a single chip. Its solutions target a range of applications in the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets.
As of December 25, 2010, The Company offers a portfolio of more than 120 RFICs, including switches, digital attenuators, mixers/upconverters, and prescalers, and it is developing power amplifiers (Pas), digitally tunable capacitors (DTCs), and DC-DC converters. During the fiscal year ended December 25, 2010, its products were sold to more than 1,400 module manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract manufacturers, and other customers, including such companies as Amalfi Semiconductor, Inc., The Boeing Company, EPCOS AG, Ericsson AB, Hitachi Media Electronics Company, Ltd., Hitachi Metals, Ltd., Humax Co., Ltd., Itron, Inc., LG Innotek Co., Ltd., Mini-Circuits, Inc., Motorola, Inc., Murata Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Planet Technology Corp., Rockwell Collins, Inc., Rohde & Schwarz, Inc., SIPAT Co., Ltd., Skyworks Solutions, Inc., Sony Corporation, Source Photonics, Inc., and Thales Alenia Space.
RF switches-antenna
RF Switches are utilized in the RF section of mobile devices to route RF signals between! the antenna and the handset core, through one or more signal paths. For mobile handsets, its switch products offer up to 10 RF signal paths with integrated digital bus support and onboard voltage regulation.
RFswitches-broadband and general purpose
The Company�� broadband and general purpose RF switches deliver combination of broadband linearity, settling time, and isolation while routing RF signals to their respective transmit or receive paths. Its attributes are being used by the OEMs of LED and plasma digital televisions (DTVs), set top box, cable infrastructure, test and measurement devices
Digital Attenuators
The Company provides digital step attenuators that are used to control the amplitude of an RF or analog signal. The products include digital control circuitry integrated with an RF attenuator core and are used in third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) cellular base stations, repeaters, and point-to-point nodes.
Synthesizers
The Company�� frequency synthesizers provide an electronic system for generating any of a range of frequencies from a single fixed timebase or oscillator. Its synthesizers provide low-power, ultra-low phase noise, programmable frequency synthesis for defense, broadband, industrial, and wireless infrastructure markets.
Mixers/Upconverters
The Company�� mixers/upconverters are used to translate encoded voice/data signals from one frequency to another to enable radio transmission. Its mixers / upconverters are incorporated into mixer modules and provide industry linearity, which is a metric to maximizing wireless data transmission rates. These attributes are critical in 3G and 4G cellular base station designs.
Prescalers
The Company�� prescalers operate in the C, X, and Ku bands to divide the frequency of a wireless signal in order to extend the operating range of a synthesizer beyond its base capability. Its prescalers complem! ent its f! requency synthesizer line, providing its customers with design.
Variable Gain Amplifiers
The Company�� Variable Gain Amplifiers (VGAs) are used in both the receiving and transmitting path of a radio system to maintain a signal�� strength at a level necessary for other circuits to operate optimally. Its DVGA is the monolithic integrated circuit (IC) to integrate three functional blocks, including digital attenuators, RF/IF amplifiers and a common serial interface onto a single IC.
DC-DC Converters
The Company�� frequency-configurable DC-DC converters efficiently perform voltage conversion using a high frequency switching technique that minimizes system noise. Its DC-DC converters are designed to enable a distributed power management architecture designed for satellite applications, replacing inefficient drop out regulators and central converters.
Power Amplifiers
The Company�� PAs amplify RF signals in order to generate the necessary power required to establish a radio link between a base station and a mobile device. With its UltraCMOS technology the Company has the ability to integrate its PAs on a single chip with other RF, mixed signal, and digital components.
The Company competes with Hittite, M/A-COM, NEC, Renesas, RFMD, Skyworks, Sony, Toshiba and TriQuint Semiconductor.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lee Jackson]
Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: PSMI) is a lesser known name that is a top stock to buy at Deutsche Bank. The company recently released a new radio frequency (RF) switch specifically designed for broadband cable systems. With HD content exploding, this could be a huge home run for the company. Deutsche Bank has a $14 price target for the stock, the same as the consensus target.
Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2015: 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).
Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2015: NextStage Inc (NXT)
NextStage, Inc. is a holding company. The Company is engaged in the management of its investments in shares of stocks of its subsidiaries. The Company�� subsidiaries include Mondex Philippines Inc. (MXP), Infinit-e Asia Inc. (Infinit-e Asia) and Technology Support Services, Inc. (TSSI). MXP operates a multi-application smart card system in Philippines. Infinit-e Asia is a software development company specializing on smart card and e-commerce solutions tailored to enhance the business of its clients. Infinit-e Asia develops smart card solutions for both real and online applications and on both contact and contactless platform. Infinit-e Asia�� spectrum of products and applications are classified as payments, data capture and security. TSSI is engaged in the business of business process outsourcing (BPO), applications service providers (ASP) and managed service providers (MSP). Advisors' Opinion:- [By Namitha Jagadeesh]
HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Europe�� largest bank, slid 2.1 percent. International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) declined 2 percent as it canceled some of its flights following a disruption caused by one of its planes at Heathrow airport. Next Plc (NXT) retreated 2.4 percent as Morgan Stanley cut its recommendation on the shares.
Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2015: Tokyo Electron Ltd (TOELY.PK)
Tokyo Electron Limited is a company mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of electronic products for industrial uses. The Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment, Flat-panel Display (FPD) and Photovoltaic Cell (PV) Manufacturing Equipment segment provides coaters and developers for wafer processing, plasma etching equipment, thermal processing systems, single wafer deposition systems, cleaning systems, coaters and developers for FPD manufacturing, ashing devices and plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) devices. The Electronic Component and Information Communication Equipment segment designs, develops, purchases and sells semiconductor products such as integrated circuits (ICs), computer and network equipment and software. The Others segment involves in logistics, facility management and insurance businesses. On April 1, 2013, it merged with two subsidiaries. In January 2014, the Company established TEL-Applied Holdings B.V. and a Japan-based company. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]
Ultratech isn't the only game in town, though, and there are multiple technologies and process steps that are going to play significant roles in the production of FinFETs and 3D circuits. With that, I would take a look at Mattson Technologies (MTSN), as this company has already accomplished the not-so-easy task of gaining meaningful share in the dry strip, rapid thermal processing (RTP), and etch markets despite competing with giants like Lam Research (LRCX), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Tokyo Electron (TOELY.PK).
Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2015: 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 Ben Levisohn]
Stocks finished mix today, though it’s probably more fair to say they hardly moved at all.�Intel�(INTC), Facebook (FB) and�Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) gained, while�CR Bard�(BCR) and eHealth (EHTH) fell.
- [By Paul Ausick]
On a day when all but a handful of Dow 30 stocks are trading lower, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is seeing a share price boost of 0.87%. There are those who believe the company will raise its dividend this year after failing to do so last year. The stock will close at around $24.85 in a 52-week range of $20.75 to $27.12. Volume was almost 30% below the daily average of around nearly 31 million shares traded.
- [By Chris Hill]
In this installment of Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser and Isaac Pino explain why they're keeping a close watch on shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ) and Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO ) .
- [By Magic Diligence]
Flash - A Commodity with Volatile Supply/Demand DynamicsFlash memory is a commodity. SanDisk has a lot of big, established competition, including Hynix, Intel (INTC), Micron (MU), Samsung, Toshiba, and other smaller, generic producers. There is nothing special or rare about it - the only limit to supply are what semiconductor fabs can produce.
Hot Semiconductor Companies 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 Elliott Gue]
Bearish commentators cite Intel's limited share of the rapidly growing mobile and tablet markets and the challenges that the firm faces in stealing business away from ARM Holdings (ARMH).
- [By Royston Wild]
Today I am looking at ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM ) (NASDAQ: ARMH ) to see how whether it makes a good GARP share.
What are ARM Holdings' earnings expected to do?
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