Blogs On Semiconductor

Xilinx XCELL Journal Article: Amazing MIT FPGA Projects & BSV

The latest Xilinx XCELL Journal has a great article on MIT's 6.375 digital design course. The students, who only had rudimentary hardware design experience at most and had never seen BSV before the class, build truly amazing projects in only 6 weeks -- after only 2.5 months of class. Read more and get the article here.

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

The unnamed tool behind Mentor’s optimizing power white paper

I recently wrote a blog post at Bluespec's website about a Mentor white paper and article on optimizing power. We were a little surprised to see some very familiar quality of results in a table that they used for both pieces.

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

CAD Engineers' Bookshelf Updated

Four years ago, I presented my original CAD Engineers' Bookshelf. I've put together an updated list here of the subset of books that I refer to most often. Since some titles have been updated, latest editions are listed here.

Another update since 2007 is that alternative formats are widely available for these books. You can go directly to the source at O'Reilly Media and purchase Ebooks formatted for all the popular e-readers. It's very convenient to be able to download formats that look great on your Computer, Kindle, or iPad.

Without further ado, here's the 2011 version of the bookshelf. It's all Perl, which is testimony to both Perl's power and it's inscrutability!

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

MStar & Mediatek vying for Nokia’s 2G biz??

What happens when two local companies fight for the same pie? And when that pie has a component from a “once market leader, now floundering handset maker”? And when one of the pie contestants is also gnawing the market share of this “once market leader, now floundering handset maker”? Well, speculations abound! MStar and Mediatek,the two Taiwanese [...]

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

When Trolls Attack

Ever listen to This American Life? Ira Glass is a great story teller. This week's episode is very relevant to our industry.

It's on the long side. You can listen to it here, or do as I do and load it as a podcast onto your personal media player of choice. Then you can listen while washing the dishes, walking the dog, etc. Multi-tasking!

Who's your (least) favorite EDA/IP patent troll?

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Spreadtrum acquires Telegent - Deja-vu??

Spreadtrum Communications, the fabless developer of baseband and RF chips recently announced its acquisition of Telegent Systems, a developer of software and silicon for the reception of live broadcast television signals. While trolling the net, I saw this article that gives a quirky feeling of déjà vu. The article’s contents basically go on these lines…. In [...]

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Art of Failure 2011

Enjoy the hauntingly beautiful chip photographs in Art of Failure 2011 - IEEE Spectrum.

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

The 2011 MEMOCODE Design Contest & BSV

I'm going to be splitting my blogging on both Bluespec's website and here. I just wrote a blog on the 2011 MEMOCODE design contest, which was won this year by Michael Papamichael of CMU. His solution was really amazing -- you can read more about it here.

A BSV-based design has won every time it has been entered in the MEMOCODE design contest.

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Missing component in the local semiconductor eco-system

An MoU was signed between Silterra and Might Meteor last week. It was basically about kicking off a training program under a wider umbrella of human capital enhancement. Being a part of the training program – and the fact that the MoU ceremony was held during the time I was there (!) – I got [...]

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

China Semiconductor Mfg. Industry Profile - CIC4052 | Market Research Report

Aarkstore.com announce a new report through its vast collection of market research report.

China Semiconductor Mfg. Industry Profile – CIC4052
http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/China-Semiconductor-Mfg-Industry-Profile-CIC4052-46932.html

Through a comparative analysis on the development of semiconductor mfg. industry in 31 provincial regions and 20 major cities in visualized form of data map, the report provides key data and concise analyses on the semiconductor mfg. industry in China, a list of top 20 enterprises in the sector as well as the comparison on investment environment in top 10 hot regions. In addition, the report truly reflects the position of foreign enterprises in semiconductor mfg. industry across China based on a comprehensive comparison of operating conditions among different enterprise types.

This report includes the data for the year 2010, 2009 and 2008.

This report is based on Chinese industry classification (Industrial Classification For National Economic Activities, GB/T 4754-2002).
Additionally, by original creation of ZEEFER Industry Distribution Index, the report directly shows the difference in various regions of Mainland China in terms of semiconductor mfg. industry, providing an important reference for investors’ selection of target regions to make investment.

What will you get from this report?

· To get a comprehensive picture on distribution of and difference in performance in regions of Mainland China in terms of the semiconductor mfg. industry;
· To figure out the hot regions in China for semiconductor mfg. industry, find out the potential provinces and cities suitable for investment as well as the economic development level and investment environment in these regions;
· To get a clear picture on the overall development, industry size and growth trend of semiconductor mfg. industry across China in the past 3 years;
· To get a clear picture on development status of foreign enterprises, state-owned enterprises, and private enterprises in recent years as well as the industry position of the above ownerships;
· Present you with a list of top 20 enterprises inside the industry;
· ……

Regions Covered By This Report

· All the 31 provincial regions in Mainland China;
· Top 20 cities in terms of semiconductor mfg. industry.

Enterprise Types Covered By This Report

· Top 20 enterprises;
· Enterprises Funded by Foreign Countries (territories), Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan;
· Chinese State-owned Enterprises;
· Collective-owned Enterprises;
· Cooperative Enterprises;
· Joint-Equity Enterprises;
· Private Enterprises.

ZEEFER Industry Distribution Index

It is an indicator through aggregate weighted computation based on the three authority statistics of enterprise numbers, sales revenue and profit by region and corporate ownership, and in accordance with the regional distribution of leading enterprises inside the sector. Through horizontal comparison on the semiconductor mfg. industry development in different provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, the ZEEFER Industry Distribution Index is specially designed to truly reflect the conditions of regional distribution for the semiconductor mfg. industry, providing a quantitative, visual and reliable reference for relevant users to make decisions. The ZEEFER Industry Distribution Index adopts a hundred mark system. For a certain region, the higher the score, the higher the distribution concentration in this region and the industry position of the region shall be more important.

Aarkstore Enterprise

Abhishek Mankar
Tel: +919272852585
Email: enquiry@aarkstore.com
Website: www.aarkstore.com
Blog: http://blogs.aarkstore.com/

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Purchase Vishay Parts from ASAPSEMI

Vishay parts are one of the preferred equipment for aircraft machinery. The overall design and make is out of the box and ensures to be long lasting. We at ASAPSEMI ensure to deliver Vishay parts for aviation purposes. Our inventories are filled with Vishay brand which is one of the leaders in aviation industry. All parts offered for sale are tested before delivery, we ensure quality to be present at all times which is mandatory. Online purchase of Vishay parts is preferred as you can save time and money. Performance from this brand is simply outstanding and staggering. Maintenance issues are nil since most of the parts are created from updated technology. ASAPSEMI is one of the major electronic manufacturers in the entire United States. All our services are available in the United States of America.

Vishay parts have proven to be one of the effective solutions for aviation needs. All you need to do is log on to http://www.asapsemi.com/ and browse through our inventory list. Give us a call and our technical team will give you advanced details, they will also provide you with top end details regarding your purchase. Various delivery options are also available that can be selected as per your requirements. Payment gateway is present that can be preferred according to your needs. ASAPSEMI is one of the major electronic component distributor in the entire United States of America, it has various outlets which can suffice the wants of aviation sector. Always buy genuine aircraft product as they are tested for safety and performance.

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Get closely to Unveiled Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

According to the industry news, many expected that the 3rdquarter would see quite optimistic conditions in electronics markets, and by the end of last month,ON Semiconductor ,the premier supplier of high performance silicon solutions for energy efficient electronics convinced us electronic markets is continue to expand that they have released new electrically erasable programmable read-Only memory (EEPROM) devices for the automotive, medical, and consumer markets.

The EEPROM devices include the high density 512 kilobit (kb) CAT24C512 and 1 megabit (Mb) CAT24M01, which have a 1.8 volt (V) to 5.5 V supply voltage range. The CAT24C512 and CAT24M01 employ 256 byte and 128 byte page write buffers respectively. Both devices support Standard 100 kilohertz (kHz), Fast 400 kHz, and Fast-Plus 1 megahertz (MHz) serial I2C protocols. These devices are manufactured on a 0.18 micrometer (µm) low power CMOS process at the ON Semiconductor owned and operated Gresham, Oregon facility.

In addition, the company introduced a series of AEC-Q100 qualified EEPROMs for automotive designs. These devices have a 2.5 V to 5.5 V supply voltage range and support the Standard and Fast I2C protocols. Both the 64 kb CAV24C64 and the 32 kb CAV24C32 feature 32 byte page write buffers, while the 2 kb CAV24C02, 4 kb CAV24C04, 8 kb CAV24C08 and 16 kb CAV24C16 incorporate a 16 byte page write buffer. These devices are also manufactured at the Gresham facility, on a 0.35 µm process.

It said that all of the new EEPROM devices feature a 100 year data retention period and support for 1,000,000 program/erase cycles. The operating temperature range of these serial EEPROMs is −40 °C to +125 °C.

According to their launched news, they indicated that further products will be added to the portfolio later this year, including versions of both the high density and automotive devices with SPI interfaces, to complement the I2C interface products.

“The state-of-the-art ON Semiconductor facility in Gresham, Oregon, provides us with advanced, in-house manufacturing technology and substantial capacity to provide a stable supply chain for EEPROM products,” said Dev Nair, marketing director for EEPROM products at ON Semiconductor. “We are pleased to be able to offer high density and automotive qualified I2C EEPROMs to our broad customer base, and look forward to expanding the portfolio further with SPI EEPROMs later this year.” He added.

Article source: http://www.hqew.net/events/news-article/240.html

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Semiconductor ETF a Possible Buy

As a contrarian investor I love poorly performing sectors. That’s not to say I don’t agree with the old adage that “the trend is your friend”. Trend following can be a major aspect in trading and calling a bottom or top is, honestly, impossible. However, I believe that the semiconductor stocks have been pushed so low by the summer downtrend that they’re primed for a reversal. That’s why I’m considering investing in Direxion Daily Semicondct (SOXL).

This fund seeks daily investment results of 300% of the price performance of the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index. That means the stock is triple-leveraged, so it’ll be even more volatile than ROM or SOXX. The fund creates long positions by investing at least 80% of its net assets in the equity securities that comprise the Semiconductor Index and/or Financial Instruments. For reference, some popular semiconductor stocks include Intel and Cisco. Now let’s analyze the SwamiChart for more information…

As you can tell, SOXL recently broke the 50-day moving average and is now trading at a 10-day high. The middle SwamiPredict indicator has an emerging green “buy” signal that was first established on the 24th of June. And although the SwamiMarket mode is still suggesting that the stock is in a downtrend you can see the beginnings of a yellow “cycle” mode starting to form. This could be an important development considering that the last “cycle” mode ended over a month ago. Finally, I just had to include the SwamiVolume indicator because it so perfectly predicted the drop in early March. Remember, as I explained in my previous post, the increased relative volume at a peak (as illustrated by the white coloration) can be a signal that a reversal could be in the works.

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Deep Value Technology Stocks for the Second Half of 2011 (ATVI, AMKR, ARRS, BRCD, IDTI, WFR, PMCS, SNDK, WDC)

Using the term “value stocks” in the same sentence as “I.T.” and “technology” can be a dangerous game. Still, many investors, particularly of the private equity acquiring type, do use basic value calculations in looking for a core business to acquire. We generally look at Technology “value stocks” as being companies that trade with low price-to-book ratios, those that can still have positive earnings ahead and those with low expected ratios for price-to-earnings. There are many more factors to consider in each of these and we have tried to outline the proper pros and cons in each.

The current list of 24/7 Wall St.’s Technology Value List for the Rest of 2011 is in alphabetical order: Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMKR); Arris Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRS); Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD); Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI); MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR); PMC-Sierra Inc. (NASDAQ PMCS); SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK); and Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC).

Generally speaking, technology value is under 2-times book value under is now under 12.5-times expected earnings. Except where otherwise noted, the source for all performance and financial data is Finviz.com. When you have Cisco, Microsoft, and Intel all trading at dirt-cheap earnings multiples, many investors may think that value and tech are immaterial. Another issue is that private equity firms generally look at other less capital-intensive businesses with lower R&D expenses.

Only two of these deep value tech picks are repeated from our “Deep Tech Value List from Late 2010″ and the mix there will show some serious wins and some which remain in the value-trap category. The remaining two value picks and others from that list are higher than late in 2010, but one of those prior value picks is Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) and it has nearly doubled since then despite facing woes around the time.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) boasts a price to book value ratio of 1.28 to 1 placing it in the top-tier of these companies. The company’s $13 billion market cap ranks it first among this group of technology companies. Its 12.5 forward earnings multiple is makes it richest among these nine companies. In a recent trading session Activision’s shares closed at $11.38. Its 52-week price range is $10.16 to $12.46.

Activision is no buyout candidate by our take. The company has an incredible console and PC game line-up and it clearly wins in the MMORPG genre. Perhaps its biggest competition and threat today is “freemium” games that are sold to iPhone and iPad users or which are social-networking oriented games. It is even possible that Zynga is going to be valued more than Activision’s $13+ billion market capitalization. Activision has a consensus Thomson Reuters analyst price target above $14.00, a price not seen since before the tech sector and economy went into the tank of the recession. If Zynga’s market cap is magically going to be $15 to $20 billion with about one-quarter of the revenues, the true largest gaming stock is going to look like deep value.

Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMKR) is in the unloved and somewhat boring space of semiconductor packaging and test services. As with many value stocks, it is probably cheap for a reason. Its shares are trading at a price to book value of 1.56 to 1 a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. The company’s $1.2 billion market cap places it among the smallest of these companies. Its forward PE multiple at less than 6 is virtually the “leanest” and best among these companies. Amkor recently closed at $6.10. Its 52-week trading range is $5.05 to $8.49.

What is interesting is that the Thomson Reuters consensus price is $9.50, implying upside of more than 50%. It has effectively been trying to refinance its debt at lower rates, which will make its debt level less burdensome ahead. Fortunately, this company carries almost no value in goodwill and intangibles. Amkor was at point in 2007 worth some $16.00 per share and the company might be able use its interest savings for dividend payments. There has been consolidation in its space for bolt-on acquisitions.

Arris Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRS) is an equipment-maker for the broadband communications sector, and that means it sits in a peer group that is subject to good hits and bad misses. The company boasts a price to book ratio of about 1.41, placing it in the top-tier of these companies. The company’s $1.4 billion market cap places it in the lower tier of these companies. Its forward earnings multiple in excess of about 12 ranks it among the richer companies on this list, but still cheap against many peers. In a recent trading session Arris Group’s shares closed at $11.27. ts 52-week trading range is $8.16 to $14.49.

Arris offers no real yield as a safety net for income-oriented value investors. The company has very manageable debt and more than $620 million in cash. Arris is in the middle of a long-term range in the stock and offers no real dividend. There is value when it comes to traditional screens here, but historically it seems to be somewhere around Par for investors.

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is one that is in the ripe spot for consolidation in networking and storage. It boast a price to book ratio of under 1.4 and many investors and some analysts consider this one to be bait for consolidation. Its market cap is about $3 billion. The company’s forward earnings multiple in excess of 11.5 ranks it among the richer companies on this list. Brocade shares posted a closing price of $6.25 in a recent session. The 52-week price range is $4.64 to $7.30.

One analyst recently laid out the case that Brocade should be acquired by Dell. Thomson Reuters used to have a consensus price target much higher and this one was worth $10.00 back in 2007. Arguably it is the poor-man’s Cisco, and that is keeping it from being a high premium stock right now.

Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) is in the spot of circuits for communications and computing and it is valued at about 1.9-times its book value. While cheap, it is actually the highest valuation on this list. The company’s market cap is $1.1 billion, ranking it the smallest of these companies. Its forward PE multiple is 10.3, slightly richer than average among these technology players. In a recent trading session Integrated Device’s shares closed at $7.54. Its 52-week price range is $4.82 to $8.74.

Despite its growth being at the bottom-case scenario of what the company thinks it can achieve, shares slid hard from $8.50 to under $7.50 in less than the last two months before the most recent bounce. Thomson Reuters has a consensus analyst price target above $10.00, implying close to 30% upside. Integrated Device Tech was also a $15.00 stock in 2007 and this one has struggled on and off not appearing solely like a value stock many times since coming public in the early 1990s.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is hard to call because it trades like a solar company but its main business is silicon wafers for chip-makers. It also makes silicon wafers sold to solar players. Because it has an awful history of earnings reports, the company is effectively trading under book value with a price to book ratio of about 0.8 to 1. Its market cap is about $1.9 billion and its forward price-to-earnings multiple is less than 6.5 and that is very low for the tech-value group. MEMC Electronic’s shares were at $8.33 and its 52-week price range is $7.94 to $15.04.

You already know much of the woes… poor earnings trajectory, poor investor sentiment, and perhaps a misunderstood business model. This has also screened as a value stock for well over a year and the fact that analysts have a consensus price target above $14.00 may be as relevant in reality as the fact that this used to be a $80+ during the peak of the energy and alternative energy bubble in 2007 to 2008. The debt level is high with over $1.1 billion in long-term debt, which dwarfs its near-$900 million in cash and short-term liquidity. What matters here is that business seems to be turning around again and there had previously been some insider purchases of stock.

PMC-Sierra Inc. (NASDAQ PMCS) is in chip solutions for communications and shares are trading at a price to book ratio of about 1.65, a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. Its $1.7 billion market cap places it among the lower tier of companies discussed here. The company’s 9.4 forward PE multiple is a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. Shares of PMC-Sierra recently closed at $7.41 and its 52-week price range is $6.83 to $9.20.

Analysts only have a consensus price target of about $8.94 here, so its upside is not exactly screaming here. There is also no dividend and this one came public in the early 1990s. The big drop in share price and sentiment came earlier this year and it has only just recently started to show some signs of life after bouncing off of 52-week lows. Cash and investments versus debt is very attractive but investors may find themselves struggling for any real catalysts.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is the largest independent flash memory player out there and it did not entirely escape that Japan cloud earlier in the year. Its shares are trading at a price to book value of 1.61 to 1 a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. The company’s $9.75 billion market cap places among the largest of these technology players. Its 8.2 forward PE multiple is a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. In a recent trading session SanDisk’s shares closed at $40.49. Its 52-week price range is $33.03 to $53.61.

SanDisk is the king of flash memory, so it wins and loses as the wind blows in the world of consumer electronics. Still, its shares have grown and contracted enough that investors have done extremely well if they buy this when business is awful and have done great selling after periods of huge gains. Its current historic price is neutral, no “grossly oversold” nor “grossly overbought” readings here. It usually trades with a cheap multiple, and it already turned away a Samsung buyout offer when shares were worth far less than today.

Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) is in a virtual duopoly in the world of storage drives against Seagate and both companies often screen as value stocks. There is a reason: 1 terabyte of storage can be bought for less than $100 at stores now and that has everyone fearful that margins will compress indefinitely. There is also a fear that flash-drives will eat into the both Seagate and WD. The sector is often considered a value trap now. Still, WD is all in the Apple stores for its external drives. The dividend policy in storage also remains somewhat uncertain.

WD’s shares are trading at a price to book ratio of 1.55, cheap but not excessively against others here in the tech value group. The company’s $8.3 billion market cap is also rather high. Its 9.2 forward PE multiple is a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. Shares of Western Digital posted a closing price of $35.93 recently and the 52-week price range is $23.06 to $41.87. S&P Equity Research just slapped a “Sell” rating on WD. A cloud is hanging over the acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies since the EC is reviewing the deal. If that deal does close late in this year, then WD may not look as cheap on the books and may have a more bloated business. So consider this one as “value, but…” in your analysis. Still, this was considered one potential target before.

Value stocks are usually cheap for a reason. Maybe business has stalled or maybe the opportunity has peaked. The one common theme among many value stocks is a lack of catalysts. Still, when it comes to M&A and it when it comes to long-term investing through good markets and bad it is the value segment that often outperforms the market or which holds up better when markets head south. If everything was running perfectly inside the companies or if there were no caveats then these would not be called “value stocks.”

As one investment manager said at The Value Investing Congress when asked about how she starts her screens for finding value stocks, “Actually, I usually start my screens by seeing which stocks have been hitting 52-week lows for a while.”

JON C. OGG

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Deep Value Technology Stocks for the Second Half of 2011 (ATVI, AMKR, ARRS, BRCD, IDTI, WFR, PMCS, SNDK, WDC)

Using the term “value stocks” in the same sentence as “I.T.” and “technology” can be a dangerous game. Still, many investors, particularly of the private equity acquiring type, do use basic value calculations in looking for a core business to acquire. We generally look at Technology “value stocks” as being companies that trade with low price-to-book ratios, those that can still have positive earnings ahead and those with low expected ratios for price-to-earnings. There are many more factors to consider in each of these and we have tried to outline the proper pros and cons in each.

The current list of 24/7 Wall St.’s Technology Value List for the Rest of 2011 is in alphabetical order: Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMKR); Arris Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRS); Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD); Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI); MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR); PMC-Sierra Inc. (NASDAQ PMCS); SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK); and Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC).

Generally speaking, technology value is under 2-times book value under is now under 12.5-times expected earnings. Except where otherwise noted, the source for all performance and financial data is Finviz.com. When you have Cisco, Microsoft, and Intel all trading at dirt-cheap earnings multiples, many investors may think that value and tech are immaterial. Another issue is that private equity firms generally look at other less capital-intensive businesses with lower R&D expenses.

Only two of these deep value tech picks are repeated from our “Deep Tech Value List from Late 2010″ and the mix there will show some serious wins and some which remain in the value-trap category. The remaining two value picks and others from that list are higher than late in 2010, but one of those prior value picks is Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) and it has nearly doubled since then despite facing woes around the time.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) boasts a price to book value ratio of 1.28 to 1 placing it in the top-tier of these companies. The company’s $13 billion market cap ranks it first among this group of technology companies. Its 12.5 forward earnings multiple is makes it richest among these nine companies. In a recent trading session Activision’s shares closed at $11.38. Its 52-week price range is $10.16 to $12.46.

Activision is no buyout candidate by our take. The company has an incredible console and PC game line-up and it clearly wins in the MMORPG genre. Perhaps its biggest competition and threat today is “freemium” games that are sold to iPhone and iPad users or which are social-networking oriented games. It is even possible that Zynga is going to be valued more than Activision’s $13+ billion market capitalization. Activision has a consensus Thomson Reuters analyst price target above $14.00, a price not seen since before the tech sector and economy went into the tank of the recession. If Zynga’s market cap is magically going to be $15 to $20 billion with about one-quarter of the revenues, the true largest gaming stock is going to look like deep value.

Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMKR) is in the unloved and somewhat boring space of semiconductor packaging and test services. As with many value stocks, it is probably cheap for a reason. Its shares are trading at a price to book value of 1.56 to 1 a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. The company’s $1.2 billion market cap places it among the smallest of these companies. Its forward PE multiple at less than 6 is virtually the “leanest” and best among these companies. Amkor recently closed at $6.10. Its 52-week trading range is $5.05 to $8.49.

What is interesting is that the Thomson Reuters consensus price is $9.50, implying upside of more than 50%. It has effectively been trying to refinance its debt at lower rates, which will make its debt level less burdensome ahead. Fortunately, this company carries almost no value in goodwill and intangibles. Amkor was at point in 2007 worth some $16.00 per share and the company might be able use its interest savings for dividend payments. There has been consolidation in its space for bolt-on acquisitions.

Arris Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRS) is an equipment-maker for the broadband communications sector, and that means it sits in a peer group that is subject to good hits and bad misses. The company boasts a price to book ratio of about 1.41, placing it in the top-tier of these companies. The company’s $1.4 billion market cap places it in the lower tier of these companies. Its forward earnings multiple in excess of about 12 ranks it among the richer companies on this list, but still cheap against many peers. In a recent trading session Arris Group’s shares closed at $11.27. ts 52-week trading range is $8.16 to $14.49.

Arris offers no real yield as a safety net for income-oriented value investors. The company has very manageable debt and more than $620 million in cash. Arris is in the middle of a long-term range in the stock and offers no real dividend. There is value when it comes to traditional screens here, but historically it seems to be somewhere around Par for investors.

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is one that is in the ripe spot for consolidation in networking and storage. It boast a price to book ratio of under 1.4 and many investors and some analysts consider this one to be bait for consolidation. Its market cap is about $3 billion. The company’s forward earnings multiple in excess of 11.5 ranks it among the richer companies on this list. Brocade shares posted a closing price of $6.25 in a recent session. The 52-week price range is $4.64 to $7.30.

One analyst recently laid out the case that Brocade should be acquired by Dell. Thomson Reuters used to have a consensus price target much higher and this one was worth $10.00 back in 2007. Arguably it is the poor-man’s Cisco, and that is keeping it from being a high premium stock right now.

Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) is in the spot of circuits for communications and computing and it is valued at about 1.9-times its book value. While cheap, it is actually the highest valuation on this list. The company’s market cap is $1.1 billion, ranking it the smallest of these companies. Its forward PE multiple is 10.3, slightly richer than average among these technology players. In a recent trading session Integrated Device’s shares closed at $7.54. Its 52-week price range is $4.82 to $8.74.

Despite its growth being at the bottom-case scenario of what the company thinks it can achieve, shares slid hard from $8.50 to under $7.50 in less than the last two months before the most recent bounce. Thomson Reuters has a consensus analyst price target above $10.00, implying close to 30% upside. Integrated Device Tech was also a $15.00 stock in 2007 and this one has struggled on and off not appearing solely like a value stock many times since coming public in the early 1990s.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is hard to call because it trades like a solar company but its main business is silicon wafers for chip-makers. It also makes silicon wafers sold to solar players. Because it has an awful history of earnings reports, the company is effectively trading under book value with a price to book ratio of about 0.8 to 1. Its market cap is about $1.9 billion and its forward price-to-earnings multiple is less than 6.5 and that is very low for the tech-value group. MEMC Electronic’s shares were at $8.33 and its 52-week price range is $7.94 to $15.04.

You already know much of the woes… poor earnings trajectory, poor investor sentiment, and perhaps a misunderstood business model. This has also screened as a value stock for well over a year and the fact that analysts have a consensus price target above $14.00 may be as relevant in reality as the fact that this used to be a $80+ during the peak of the energy and alternative energy bubble in 2007 to 2008. The debt level is high with over $1.1 billion in long-term debt, which dwarfs its near-$900 million in cash and short-term liquidity. What matters here is that business seems to be turning around again and there had previously been some insider purchases of stock.

PMC-Sierra Inc. (NASDAQ PMCS) is in chip solutions for communications and shares are trading at a price to book ratio of about 1.65, a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. Its $1.7 billion market cap places it among the lower tier of companies discussed here. The company’s 9.4 forward PE multiple is a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. Shares of PMC-Sierra recently closed at $7.41 and its 52-week price range is $6.83 to $9.20.

Analysts only have a consensus price target of about $8.94 here, so its upside is not exactly screaming here. There is also no dividend and this one came public in the early 1990s. The big drop in share price and sentiment came earlier this year and it has only just recently started to show some signs of life after bouncing off of 52-week lows. Cash and investments versus debt is very attractive but investors may find themselves struggling for any real catalysts.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is the largest independent flash memory player out there and it did not entirely escape that Japan cloud earlier in the year. Its shares are trading at a price to book value of 1.61 to 1 a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. The company’s $9.75 billion market cap places among the largest of these technology players. Its 8.2 forward PE multiple is a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. In a recent trading session SanDisk’s shares closed at $40.49. Its 52-week price range is $33.03 to $53.61.

SanDisk is the king of flash memory, so it wins and loses as the wind blows in the world of consumer electronics. Still, its shares have grown and contracted enough that investors have done extremely well if they buy this when business is awful and have done great selling after periods of huge gains. Its current historic price is neutral, no “grossly oversold” nor “grossly overbought” readings here. It usually trades with a cheap multiple, and it already turned away a Samsung buyout offer when shares were worth far less than today.

Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) is in a virtual duopoly in the world of storage drives against Seagate and both companies often screen as value stocks. There is a reason: 1 terabyte of storage can be bought for less than $100 at stores now and that has everyone fearful that margins will compress indefinitely. There is also a fear that flash-drives will eat into the both Seagate and WD. The sector is often considered a value trap now. Still, WD is all in the Apple stores for its external drives. The dividend policy in storage also remains somewhat uncertain.

WD’s shares are trading at a price to book ratio of 1.55, cheap but not excessively against others here in the tech value group. The company’s $8.3 billion market cap is also rather high. Its 9.2 forward PE multiple is a middle-of-the-pack number among these companies. Shares of Western Digital posted a closing price of $35.93 recently and the 52-week price range is $23.06 to $41.87. S&P Equity Research just slapped a “Sell” rating on WD. A cloud is hanging over the acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies since the EC is reviewing the deal. If that deal does close late in this year, then WD may not look as cheap on the books and may have a more bloated business. So consider this one as “value, but…” in your analysis. Still, this was considered one potential target before.

Value stocks are usually cheap for a reason. Maybe business has stalled or maybe the opportunity has peaked. The one common theme among many value stocks is a lack of catalysts. Still, when it comes to M&A and it when it comes to long-term investing through good markets and bad it is the value segment that often outperforms the market or which holds up better when markets head south. If everything was running perfectly inside the companies or if there were no caveats then these would not be called “value stocks.”

As one investment manager said at The Value Investing Congress when asked about how she starts her screens for finding value stocks, “Actually, I usually start my screens by seeing which stocks have been hitting 52-week lows for a while.”

JON C. OGG

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Senior Package Design Engineer - MEMS, Needed in Chicago, Illinois.

Job Title: Senior Package Design Engineer – MEMS
Job Code: TK_1845
Relocation: Yes
Location: Chicago area (West Suburbs)

Company is a leading global supplier of high performance components for the
mobile phone market.

SUMMARY:

. Work activities concerned with design, testing and manufacturing of
components, products and systems
. Engineering work assignments are broad in nature
. Applies technical knowledge to completion of assignments
. Qualified candidate needs to have experience in design and
development of microelectronics packaging, components and assemblies.
. Knowledge and experience with various materials for low-cost,
high-volume and high reliability
. Candidate is responsible for all Engineering related documentation,
such as drawings, specifications and test requirements.
. Work with Manufacturing Engineering and Supply Chain departments to
achieve target costs and cost schedules
. Demonstrate ability to innovate and apply diverse engineering skill
sets to solve complex engineering problems is desired
. Ability to multi-task within a fast paced , dynamic environment
. Team player, detail-oriented, self-motivated and able to work
independently with minimal guidance
. Good verbal and written communication skills

RESPONSIBILITIES:

. Convert prototype designs into detailed drawings and production
prints.
. Assist in design of new products and technology platforms
. Provide recommendations or modifications as appropriate
. Produce PCB fabrication prints and specifications from schematics
. Handle requisitions, quotes and placement of purchase orders for R&D
prototypes
. Coordinate Design Review Meetings
. Work with manufacturing engineers and suppliers for design concept
interpretation
. Work with process engineers in developing platform design rules
. Work with quality engineers in modifying designs and specifications
as required
. Acquire and apply new knowledge as required by dynamic product
development environment
. Search for and evaluate new suppliers and the viability of new
packaging technologies
. Participation in development of Product Specification
. Analysis of design to applicable standards or marketing
specifications

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

. BS Degree in Mechanical, Electrical or Materials Science
Engineering, advanced degree a plus.
. Minimum 5 years of related experience
. Full understanding of mechanical design and engineering concepts
. Experienced in SolidWorks and/or AutoCAD (or QuickCAD)
. Knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, tolerance
stack-up principles and understanding of real-world fabrication processes
. Basic knowledge of Semiconductor materials and Semiconductor
fabrication processes
. Experience with PCB materials and PCB fabrication processes
. Experience with ceramic substrate materials and fabrication
processes
. Software skills including MSOffice, Excel and statistical analysis
are required

Must Haves:
1. BS Degree in Mechanical, Electrical or Materials Science Engineering
(advanced degree a plus).
2. 5 + years of related experience.
3. Experienced in SolidWorks and/or AutoCAD (or QuickCAD).
4. Experience with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, tolerance
stack-up principles and understanding of real-world fabrication processes.
5. Experience with Semiconductor materials and Semiconductor fabrication
processes, PCB materials and PCB fabrication processes.
6. Experience with ceramic substrate materials and fabrication processes.

Apply at this link if you qualify and we will discuss salary.

Thank you,
Steven
“Gardeners Guide” (Formerly “The Job Hunter Group” on LinkedIn)

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Team demonstrates subatomic quantum memory in diamond

R&D Mag – Physicists working at the Univ. of California, Santa Barbara and the Univ. of Konstanz in Germany have developed a breakthrough in the use of diamond in quantum physics, marking an important step toward quantum computing.

The physicists were able to coax the fragile quantum information contained within a single electron in diamond to move into an adjacent single nitrogen nucleus, and then back again using on-chip wiring.

“This ability is potentially useful to create an atomic-scale memory element in a quantum computer based on diamond, since the subatomic nuclear states are more isolated from destructive interactions with the outside world,” said David Awschalom, director of UCSB’s Center for Spintronics & Quantum Computation. more> http://twurl.nl/ccvklq

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

More Defense of Spreadtrum (SPRD)

Another research report is actually out in support of Spreadtrum Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRD). Yesterday came a report from short seller Muddy Waters questioning some accounting issues from back years on top of the recent weakness we have seen from anything in China. A denial of the problems, a declaration of a dividend, and a new positive research report are all driving shares higher today.

Spreadtrum said that the Muddy Waters concerns are baseless and the company also approved a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.05 per American Depositary Share or approximately US$0.0167 per Ordinary Share. It is worth noting that Jefferies just yesterday threw a BUY rating with a $19.25 price target on Spreadtrum.

Zacks noted today that Spreadtrum (SPRD) fit within its strong buy ratings with sales momentum… That criteria was based having the Zacks #1 Rank, a market capitalization above $500 million, consensus revenue estimates rising at least 1% for both 2011 and 2012, and a positive revenue surprise in the most recently reported quarter. Zacks’ research report can be found here but Zacks did note the possible inventory issues.

Spreadtrum is trading up 10.5% at $13.81 on more than 8 million shares and the 52-week trading range is $7.60 to $24.20.

If the analysts are right and if there are no inventory and/or accounting issues, then the consensus has Spreadtrum trading at less than 2-times sales and with a P/E ratio of well under 10…

JON C. OGG

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

More Defense of Spreadtrum (SPRD)

Another research report is actually out in support of Spreadtrum Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRD). Yesterday came a report from short seller Muddy Waters questioning some accounting issues from back years on top of the recent weakness we have seen from anything in China. A denial of the problems, a declaration of a dividend, and a new positive research report are all driving shares higher today.

Spreadtrum said that the Muddy Waters concerns are baseless and the company also approved a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.05 per American Depositary Share or approximately US$0.0167 per Ordinary Share. It is worth noting that Jefferies just yesterday threw a BUY rating with a $19.25 price target on Spreadtrum.

Zacks noted today that Spreadtrum (SPRD) fit within its strong buy ratings with sales momentum… That criteria was based having the Zacks #1 Rank, a market capitalization above $500 million, consensus revenue estimates rising at least 1% for both 2011 and 2012, and a positive revenue surprise in the most recently reported quarter. Zacks’ research report can be found here but Zacks did note the possible inventory issues.

Spreadtrum is trading up 10.5% at $13.81 on more than 8 million shares and the 52-week trading range is $7.60 to $24.20.

If the analysts are right and if there are no inventory and/or accounting issues, then the consensus has Spreadtrum trading at less than 2-times sales and with a P/E ratio of well under 10…

JON C. OGG

Categories: Planet Semiconductor

Groundhog Day in Tech Funds... If Summer 2011 Repeats 2010 (XLK, QQQ, HHH, SMH, TYH, TQQQ, SOXL)

Following a pretty steady climb since August 2010, the NASDAQ peaked in late April before tumbling almost 9%. The tech-heavy index is trying to start over again, but it’s a bumpy hill. It’s trading today at more than 100 points higher than its lowest point earlier this month, and that means that there ought to be some movement in tech stocks.

The funds that follow the tech sector should also be gaining some ground, and we’re going to look at a few: the Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLK), the PowerShares QQQ (NYSE: QQQ), the Internet HOLDRS (NYSE: HHH), the Semiconductor HOLDRS (NYSE: SMH), the Direxion Daily Technology Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: THX), the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (NYSE: TQQQ), and the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: SOXL).

We have to wonder if this summer is going to be a repeat of last summer. The markets started out weak because Greece was rioting, the economic recovery was softening, inflation was a concern. From the end of April we saw a drop up to around the 4th of July weekend. Then came a bounce, but the markets drifted lower into August before the big move higher came. It could be Groundhog Day, or it could just be a trap.

The PowerShares QQQ ETF (NYSE: QQQ) is the largest tech fund, with nearly $22 billion in assets. Nearly the entire tech component of the S&P 500 is represented in this fund. The growth driver in the tech sector for the last six months or so has been smartphones, and the next big thing is likely to be cloud computing although smartphone demand continues to be strong. The fund holds a 3-star rating from Morningstar.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE: XLK) is holds total assets of about $7.3 billion. The Morningstar analyst notes that this fund and QQQ demonstrate a 98% correlation over the past five years. XLK does not include exposure to non-tech stocks in consumer discretionary, health-care, biotech, or industrial assets, as does QQQ. The fund carries a 3-star rating from Morningstar.

The Internet HOLDRS (NYSE: HHH) does not track an index and only deletes stocks from its holdings when a company is sold or folds. It never adds companies. Its total assets amount to about $128 million, and just three companies account for more than 75% of the fund’s assets: Amazon, E-bay, and Yahoo. The fund is not yet rated by Morningstar.

The Semiconductor HOLDRS (NYSE: SMH) holds assets totaling about $515 million in just 18 stocks. The fund’s top 10 holdings account for 86% of its assets. Like HHH, stocks are only deleted, never added. As semiconductor book-to-build ratios improve to round 1, investors typically get more interested in SMH. Morningstar does not rate this fund.

The Direxion Daily Technology Bull 3X Shares ETF (NYSE: THX) is a triple-leveraged that seeks daily results of 300% the price performance of the Russell 1000 Technology Index. It’s largest stock holdings are virtually identical with QQQ and XLK, although in much smaller weightings. During its first year of operation, 2009, the fund returned 245%. Last year, returns totaled 21.28%, and so far this year returns are given as 6.81%. The fund is unrated by Morningstar.

The the ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF (NYSE: TQQQ) is another triple-leveraged fund seeking to match the daily results of the Nasdaq 100 index. Its one-year return is 69.7%, and its year-to-date return is 1.27%. The fund’s assets total about $124 million and it is not yet rated by Morningstar.

The Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: SOXL) is another triple-leveraged fund, this time seeking 300% of the price performance of the PHLX Semiconductor Stock Index. The fund began operation in early 2010, and its trailing return is 20.42%. Year-to-date annual return is 14.52%. The fund is not rated by Morningstar.

When you look at the current share prices for these funds compared with 200-day moving averages, you notice that HHH has taken a solid bounce to gain about 6.8% since mid-June. The QQQ and XLK funds are finally pushing through their 200-day moving averages, but have yet to establish a solid foothold above that mark. SMH has spent just one full day above it’s 200-day moving average since mid-June, but it appears that it might do it again today.

Of the three leveraged funds, only TQQQ has managed to punch above its 200-day moving average since mid-month, and that is only today. TYH and SOXL both passed through that mark on their way down in early June and haven’t recovered yet.

The leveraged bull funds have some room to run, but haven’t yet taken advantage of it. Last summer saw the same sort of start

Paul Ausick

Categories: Planet Semiconductor