Three Uncommon Values Remaining in Semiconductor Stocks

September 17, 2013 by Paul Ausick

Chip photoThe world of semiconductors has been in a state of flux as the world is moving from PCs to smartphones, tablets and other consumer electronics. 24/7 Wall St. tracks many key sectors to identify which major stocks in each group can still bring significant stock returns to investors. Many semiconductor stocks have risen more than handily in 2013. Still, we have managed to find three actively traded chip stocks that still offer potentially significant upside from today’s share prices.

In our screen, we have evaluated the leaders in wireless chips, DRAM, flash memory and processors. It was truly amazing how much many of these leaders have rallied, but there appears to be a few diamonds left for investors looking in the rough. We have compared these three players for implied upside against their consensus analyst price targets from Thomson Reuters, shown where they have traded over the past year and added color on each as well.

More value can be found in battered smaller companies. In order to keep to the leading companies, we have a floor today of $3 billion in market capitalization, in order to avoid the riskier names. Be advised that this comes at a time when the Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSEMKT: SMH) is challenging new highs since the exchange traded fund was restructured under a new fund family.

The three remaining values left for investors in our semiconductor screen are Atmel Corp. (NASDAQ: ATML), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) and SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK).

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) closed at $27.66 on Monday and has a market value of about $16 billion. The consensus price target is around $33.00, and the 52-week range is $23.25 to $37.85. Broadcom pays a dividend yield of 1.7%. The implied upside to the consensus target price is 19.3%, and note that the target is below the stock’s 52-week high.

Broadcom’s shares were upgraded to Positive, or Buy, at Susquehanna Financial Group this morning, and the firm also lifted the company’s price target to $35. From a peak in May, shares are down 25%, but more smartphone sales ahead could pull shares back up to their May level.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) closed at $60.65 on Monday and has a market value near $15 billion. The consensus price target is around $69.40, and the 52-week range is $38.47 to $63.97. SanDisk pays a dividend yield of 1.5%. The implied upside to the consensus target price is 14.4%. That target is above the stock’s 52-week high.

SanDisk shares got a boost following a fire earlier this month at the Korean factory of competitor SK Hynix. As flash memory becomes more accepted in today’s massive data storage centers, SanDisk is well positioned to take advantage of that opportunity.

Atmel Corp. (NASDAQ: ATML) closed at $7.63 on Monday and has a market value of around $3.3 billion. The consensus price target is about $8.90, and the 52-week range is $4.37 to $8.40. Atmel does not pay a dividend. The implied upside to the consensus target price is 16.6%, and Atmel’s target price is also above the stock’s 52-week high.

Atmel’s strength in producing chips for mobile devices should continue for some quarters to come, based on the company’s announced backlog. That should boost revenues and help the company beat profit estimates.

The Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSEMKT: SMH) closed at $39.81 last night, and it had net assets of $279.1 million at the end of August. The fund’s 52-week range is $30.00 to $40.16. The low was posted in mid-November and shares are up 33% since then.

New money has flown into this fund for the past couple of months, and investors have been rewarded with solid share price growth. As long as demand for mobile devices and servers continues to be strong, this fund looks good for another few quarters.

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