Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014

According to a Financial Times report on Friday, I.T. giant International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) is considering selling its chip-making division.

Reportedly, the company isn’t dead set on selling the unit, but it is in early exploratory stages. This news comes on the heels of IBM’s decision to sell its low-end server business to Lenovo. The report also indicates IBM has hired Goldman Sachs to advise the firm on a potential deal.

Potential Buyers at Home and Abroad
It’ll be Goldman’s job to come up with a valuation of the semiconductor unit and negotiate with potential suitors. Analysts see a number of possible fits, including Intel Corp (INTC) (USA), Samsung (Korea), Taiwan Semi (Taiwan), and GlobalFoundries (USA). IBM is reportedly also open to a non-sale partnership for the unit, or other ways to extract value from the business. Regardless of the deal structure, it’s likely that IBM would look to retain the rights to access the latest chips.

Hot Medical Companies To Buy For 2015: Ambarella Inc (AMBA)

Ambarella, Inc., incorporated on January 15, 2004, is a developer of semiconductor processing solutions for video that enable high-definition (HD), video capture, sharing and display. The Company combine its processor design capabilities with its video and image processing, algorithms and software to provide a technology platform. It sells solutions into the camera and infrastructure markets, with approximately 27 million system-on-a-chips (SoCs) shipped since our inception. In the camera market, its solutions enable the creation of video content for wearable sports cameras, automotive aftermarket cameras, Internet Protocol (IP), security cameras, digital still cameras (DSCs), telepresence cameras, camcorders and pocket video cameras. In the infrastructure market, its solutions manage IP video traffic, broadcast encoding and IP video delivery applications. In 2012, the Company released its Wireless Camera Developers Kit. In 2012, it also launched S2 SoC, which enables Ultra High-Definition IP security cameras.

The Company sells its solutions to original design manufacturers (ODMs), and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), globally. In the camera market, its video processing solutions are designed into products from OEMs, including Robert Bosch GmbH and affiliated entities, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Woodman Labs, Inc., doing business as (d/b/a) GoPro, or GoPro, who source its solutions from ODMs, including Ability Enterprise Co., Ltd., Asia Optical Co. Inc., Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd., DXG Technology Corp., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. and Sky Light Digital Ltd. In the infrastructure market, its solutions are designed into products from OEMs, including Harmonic Inc., Motorola Mobility, Inc. (owned by Google, Inc.) and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, who source its solutions from ODMs, such as Plexus Corp.

AmbaClear

The Company�� image signal processing architecture, known as AmbaClear, incorporates advanced algorithms to convert raw senso! r data to high-resolution still and high-definition video images concurrently. Image processing algorithms include sensor, lens and color correction, demosaicing, which is a process used to reconstruct a full color image from incomplete color samples, noise filtering, detail enhancement and image format conversion.

AmbaCast

The Company�� HD video processing architecture, known as AmbaCast, incorporates advanced algorithms for motion estimation, motion-compensated temporal filtering, mode decision and rate control. It supports all three compression profilesbaseline, main and highas specified in the H.264 standard. Its solutions for the broadcast infrastructure market allow OEMs to offer both the H.264 and MPEG-2 encoding formats.

Design Methodology

The Company test and verify its algorithms on its architectural model prior to implementing algorithms in hardware. Its advanced verification methodology validates its approach through simultaneous modeling of architecture, algorithms and the hardware itself.

SoC Solution

The Company�� SoC designs integrate HD video processing, image processing, applications processing and system functions onto a single chip, delivering video and image quality with features, including advanced wireless connectivity. In addition, its SoCs integrate mixed signal (analog/digital) functionality and high speed interfaces required for interfacing to advanced high-speed CMOS sensors and industry standard interfaces, such as USB 2.0 and HDMI 1.4. Its A7L SoC, which it introduced in September 2011, is fabricated in edge 32 nanometer (nm) process technology and integrates AmbaClear and AmbaCast technology.

Software Development Kit for Connectivity

The Company�� video streaming technology enables the camera�� image to be previewed on a smartphone. To enable this functionality, end customers deploy its Wireless Camera Developer�� Kit, or the Kit, which enables the design of ca! meras tha! t combine still photography and Full HD video with wireless video streaming to smartphones. The Kit is available for its A7L SoC product family, providing full 1080p60 HD video with photography and low power consumption.

The Company competes with CSR Plc, Fujitsu Limited, HiSilicon Technologies Co., Ltd., Texas Instruments Incorporated, Canon Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Sony Corporation, Novatek Microelectronics Corp., Sunplus Technology Co. Ltd., Intel Corporation, Magnum Semiconductor, Inc., Texas Instruments Incorporated, Broadcom Corporation, NVIDIA Corporation, Qualcomm Incorporated and Samsung.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By amal.singh70]

  Ambarella (AMBA) is riding the growth of the increasing application of cameras in various applications. The company expects solid growth for its high-definition camera segment in the second half of the year as the consumer continued to appreciate the benefits of hands-free cameras with great video quality and the wireless connectivity.

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  We're talking about the Santa Clara, Calif.-based Ambarella Inc. (Nasdaq: AMBA), whose video-chip technology is finding its way into security cameras, automotive cameras, and the "wearable" video cams the "extreme sports" crowd uses to record their often-breathtaking exploits.

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014: GigOptix Inc (GIG)

GigOptix, Inc. (GigOptix), incorporated on March 2008, is a supplier of semiconductor and electro-optical component products that enables high-speed end to end data streaming over optical fiber and wireless telecommunications and data-communications networks globally. The Company's products convert signals between electrical and optical formats for transmitting and receiving data over fiber optic networks and between electrical and high speed radio frequencies to enable the transmission and receipt of data over wireless networks. The Company is creating both optical telecommunications and data-communications applications for fast growing markets in 10 giga bytes per second (Gbps), 40Gbps and 100Gbps drivers, receiver integrated circuits (IC), electro-optic modulator components and multi-chip-modules (MCM), as well as E-band wireless data-communications applications for high speed mobile backhaul and other high capacity wireless data transport applications. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company shipped over 150 products to over 200 customers.

The Company offers a portfolio of 10Gbps and 40Gbps electro-optical products and is developing market for 100Gbps products. The Company provides bundled solutions that consist of a few of its products, such as modulator and driver. The Company also offers a comprehensive portfolio of Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) products to support E-band wireless communication and defense markets. The Company has also developed 10Gbps vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) drivers and receivers for aerospace as well as outdoor, non-temperature controlled environments that enables higher capacity in its customers' next generation flight and data center systems.

The Company has a portfolio of products for telecommunications , data-communications, defenses and industrial applications designed for optical speeds from 3Gbps to over 100Gbps and for wireless frequencies! from zero giga hertz (GHz) to 86GHz. The Company's products support a range of data rates, protocols, transmission distances and industry standards.

The Company's portfolio consists of the product ranges, such as laser and modulator drivers for 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps applications; receiver amplifiers or Trans-impedance Amplifiers (TIAs) for 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps applications; VCSEL driver and receiver chipsets for 14 and 12 channel parallel optics applications from 3Gbps to 10Gbps; Electro-optic modulators based on the Company's TFPS technology suitable for various 40Gbps and 100Gbps modulation schemes, such as differential phase shift keying (DPSK), differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK), RZ-DQPSK and DP-QPSK; wideband monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers with flat gain response; high frequency MMIC Power Amplifiers with high gain and output power; high frequency passive attenuators and filters in small form factors, and standard cell, and structured ASIC and hybrid ASIC designs and manufacturing service for multiple markets offering information technology acquisition review (ITAR) compliance for defense applications. The Company designs and market products that amplifies electrical signals during both the transmission (amplifiers and optical drivers) and reception (TIAs) of optical signals as well as modulate optical signals in the transmission of data.

The Company's optical drivers amplify the input digital data stream that is used to modulate laser light either by direct modulation of the laser or by use of an external modulator that acts as a precise shutter to switch on and off light to create the optical data stream. The Company supplies an optimized component for each type of laser, modulator and photo-diode depending upon the speed, reach and required cost. The Company's microwave and millimeter wave amplifiers amplify small signal radio signals into more signals that can be transmitted over long distances to establish high t! hroughput! data connections or enable radar based applications. The Company's ASIC solutions are used in a number of applications such as defense and test and measurement applications to enable the high speed processing of complex signals.

The Company's product portfolio is designed to cover the range of solutions needed in these different modules. The Company's product portfolio consists of five product lines: GX Series, which includes serial drivers and TIA ICs devices for telecom and data-com markets; HX Series, which includes multi-channel driver and TIA ICs for short reach data-com and optical interconnect applications; LX Series, which includes TFPS modulators for high speed telecom and defense applications; EX Series, which includes amplifiers, filters and attenuators for microwave applications in defense and instrumentation, and CX Series, which includes family of ASIC solutions for custom integrated circuit design.

GX Series

The GigOptix GX Series of products services both the telecom and data-com markets with a broad portfolio of drivers and transimpedence amplifiers that address 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps speeds over distances that range from 100 meters to 10,000 kilometers. The GX Series devices are used in FiberChannel, Ethernet, synchronous optical networking (SONET)/ synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) components and those based upon the optical internetworking forum (OIF) standards.

HX Series

The GigOptix HX Series of products service the high performance computing (HPC), data-com and consumer markets with a portfolio of parallel VCSEL drivers and TIAs that address 3Gbps, 5Gbps,10Gbps, 14Gbps, 16Gbps and 25Gbps channel speeds over 100-300 meters distances in four and 12 channel configurations. The HX Series devices are used in HPC formats, Infiniband, Ethernet and optical high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) components.

LX Series

The GigOptix LX Series of products service the 40Gbps and above telecom! market f! or Mach-Zehnder modulators. The LX Series devices are based on the Company's TFPS EO material technology.

EX Series

The GigOptix EX Series of products leverages the high performance products acquired in the Endwave acquisition. In addition, it also includes the die and design techniques developed for the GX Series telecom and data-com drivers for related defense and instrumentation applications.

CX Series

The GigOptix CX Series of products offers a portfolio of distinct paths to digital and analog mixed signal ASICs with the capability of supporting designs of up to 10M gates in technologies ranging from 0.6 through 65nm. The CX Series uses the Company's technology in Structured and Hybrid ASICs to enable a generic ASIC solution that can be customized for a customer using only a few metal mask layers. The CX Series also offers ASIC services, including Analog and Mixed Signal IP into designs and taking customers designs from RTL or gate-level net list definitions to volume production with third party foundries.

The Company competes with TriQuint, Rohm, InPhi, Centellax, Semtech, Vitesse, M/A-Com, Avago, Emcore, Tyco Electronics, IPtronics. Avago, Emcore, Tyco Electronics, JDSU, Oclaro, Sumitomo, Fujitsu, Emcore, Oclaro, Hittite, Sumitomo, Hittite, RFMD, Northrop Grumman, On -Semiconductor, eSilicon, Open Silicon, Faraday, Toshiba and eASIC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  It's admittedly overbought and due for a slight dip thanks to today's surge. But when you take a step back and look at GigOptix Inc. (NYSEMKT:GIG), there's actually a lot to be excited about if you've been mulling a trading in GIG. The trick will be getting the timing right.

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014: Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI)

Malaysian Pacific Industries Berhad (MPI) is an investment holding company. The principal activities of MPI, through its subsidiaries are manufacturing, assembling, testing and sale of integrated circuits, semiconductor devices, electronic components and lead frames to customers globally. The Company�� operating geographical segments include Asia, The United States of America, and Europe. The Company's subsidiaries include Carsem (M) Sdn Bhd, Recams Sdn Bhd, Carsem Holdings Limited, Carsem Semiconductor (Suzhou) Co., Ltd, Dynacraft Industries Sdn Bhd, Carter Realty Sdn Bhd, Carter Realty Sdn Bhd and Carsem Holdings (HK) Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Michael Page International Plc (MPI) increased 1.1 percent to 490.2 pence after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, saying the recruitment firm will benefit from a pick-up in the European economy.

Hot Semiconductor Companies 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 Tim Culpan]

  Revenue from the technology, its most-advanced production technique, climbed to account for 24 percent of sales during the first quarter as clients such as Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) and Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) contract more orders to the Taiwanese company.

• [By ovenerio]

  The company has a current ROE of 14.21% which is higher than the ones exhibited by Micron Technology (MU) and�Broadcom Corp (BRCM). In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking those levels or more, Texas Instruments and Avago Technologies Ltd (AVGO) could be the options. It is very important to understand this metric before investing, and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.

• [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 jaggom]

  In the wireless segment, Broadcom (BRCM) is a major competitor of Qualcomm. Around 50% of Broadcom's revenue comes from this segment. But Broadcom has already lost a huge chunk of low-cost smartphone market to Qualcomm. Qualcomm's connectivity chips were chosen for the Motorola Moto X above Broadcom's products and the Samsung Galaxy S IV Mini. In addition, Broadcom's main earning technology is 3G solutions which are expected to be replaced in the next few years by 4G LTE solutions where Qualcomm already is a leader.

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014: AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG (AUS)

AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG (AT&S) is an Austria-based company that is principally engaged in the production of printed circuit boards. The Company is divided into three core business units: Mobile Devices; Automotive, and Industrial. The Company�� product assortment ranges from single- and double-sided printed circuit boards to multilayer printed circuit boards. They are used as electromechanical linking elements, mainly in the telecommunication sector, automobile industry and medical technology applications, as well as defense and aerospace. AT&S operates production sites in Austria, India, China and Korea. It also maintains international sales offices, based in Austria, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary and Belgium. As of March 31, 2011, the Company operated through its subsidiaries in India, Germany, Austria, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Triska Hamid]

  Professors at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) are also looking at dental care with braces imbedded with a chip that monitor the movement of the fixtures and will communicate with the dentist's office if any of them are separated from the teeth.

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSM)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a Taiwan-based company principally engaged in the research, development, manufacture and distribution of integrated circuit (IC) related products. The Company operates its businesses through wafer manufacture, mask production, wafer testing and packaging components. The Company also involves in the provision of production management, customer services and design services. Its products and services are applied in the manufacture of personal computers and peripheral products, information related products, wire and wireless communication systems, automobile and industrial equipment, as well as consumer electronic products, such as digital disk players, digital televisions (TVs), game consoles, digital cameras, among others. Its customers include Altera, AMD, Broadcom, Marvell, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Analog Devices, Freescale, NXP and Texas Instruments, among others. In July 2010, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. acquired mechanical and engineering equipment from ASML HONG KONG LTD. In September 2010, the Company acquired a set of equipments from ASML HONG KONG LTD. In December 2010, the Company acquired a set of equipment from TOKYO ELECTRON LTD., KLA-TENCOR CORP. and NOVELLUS SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL,B.V. In January 2011, the Company announced that it had acquired a set of equipment from KLA-TENCOR CORP., a set of equipment and facility, and another set of equipment from VARIAN SEMI. EQUIP. ASSOCIATES GmbH. In March 2011, the Company acquired a set of equipments from Rudolph Technologies, Inc.In March 2011, the Company acquired a set of equipments from Rudolph Technologies, Inc. In May 2011, it acquired a set of equipments form APPLIED MATERIALS SOUTH EAST ASIA PACIFIC LTD., Hamatech APE Gmbh and CO. KG, TOKYO ELECTRON LTD., DAINIPPON SCREEN MFG. CO., LTD., and VARIAN SEMI. EQUIP. ASSOCIATES GMBH.

TSMC's customers include semiconductor companies, ranging from fabless semiconductor and systems companies, such as Advanced Micro Devices, In! c., Altera Corporation, Broadcom Corporation, Marvell Semiconductor Inc., MediaTek Inc., nVidia Corporation and Qualcomm Incorporated, to integrated device manufacturers, such as LSI Corporation, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments Inc. Fabless semiconductor and system companies accounted for approximately 80%, and integrated device manufacturers accounted for approximately 20% of its net sales as of December 31, 2009.

The Company manufactures semiconductors using CMOS and BiCMOS processes. The BiCMOS process combines the speed of the bipolar circuitry and the power consumption and density of the CMOS circuitry. It uses the CMOS process to manufacture logic semiconductors, memory semiconductors, including static random access memory (SRAM), flash memory, mixed-signal/ radio frequency (RF) semiconductors, which combine analog and digital circuitry in a single semiconductor, micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS), which combines micrometer featured mechanical parts, analog and digital circuitry in a single semiconductor, and embedded memory semiconductors, which combine logic and memory in a single semiconductor. The BiCMOS process is used to make high-end mixed-signal and other types of semiconductors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wayne Duggan]

  Here's a modern example of the type of correlations Markowitz considered: an investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and two of its suppliers, such as RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD) and Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE: TSM) might seem like one big investment in the iPhone. However, if the suppliers entered a price war to compete with each other, their margins would shrink and share prices might fall. Apple, on the other hand, would be paying less for its parts and would see an increase in margins (and share price).

• [By Ashraf Eassa]

  No. 3: Taiwan Semiconductor
  Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM  ) has been long rumored to be the contract manufacturer for Apple's "A-series" chips. However, the 2011, 2012, and 2013 iPhone and iPad models all featured Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF  ) -built applications processors.

• [By Ashraf Eassa]

  We can reasonably assume that Intel spends about $2.5 billion/year on developing its leading-edge manufacturing technologies. To put this into perspective, TSMC (NYSE: TSM  ) �-- the world's leading independent semiconductor contract manufacturer -- has spent about $1.64 billion on R&D during the last 12 months, with that run rate more than�double the amount the company spent in 2010. Developing leading-edge manufacturing technology is getting harder and more expensive.