Semiconductors this Year

December 17, 2007

One of our special focuses this year is on Semiconductors. We spoke with analyst Tristan Gerra of Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., to give us a general outlook for Semiconductors. As the stocks have been pretty strong since June, Mr. Gerra gave us a sense of what was driving force behind this:

  1. “Basically, the catalyst for technology and semiconductor stocks this year so far has been the prospect of faster than average revenue and profit growth. Particularly in an environment where potentially the economy is slowing, people tend to retrench into companies where profits can outpace GDP growth.”

  2. “Another catalyst has been the fact that a lot of semiconductor companies are very international in nature, relying more than average on international demand. Clearly China, India and a lot of other developing economies have acted as a driver for consumer electronics items and that has benefited US-based semiconductor companies.”

  3. “We’ve also seen a return to normal valuations. There has been a pretty consistent contraction in multiples for semiconductor stocks over the past few years, and we think that the risk/reward in terms of growth relative to valuation is now much more attractive.”

For the full interview with Mr. Gerra, including a complete overview of the Semiconductors area and stocks picks, click here.