Author Archives: Scalper1

Loading the player…   With the rising Internet of Things, connected cars and cloud computing all fostering chipmaker growth, Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Broadcom ( AVGO ) make the IBD 50 list of top-ranked growth stocks. Broadcom is set to report quarterly earnings Thursday after the market close, and it could serve as a bellwether for several other chip stocks that have moved up to or past their 50-day lines in the past couple weeks as the stock market has improved. Broadcom and Nvidia are top-ranked, with IBD Composite Ratings of 98 and a best-possible 99, respectively. Broadcom, which merged with Avago Technologies in February and kept the latter’s stock symbol “AVGO,” moved up for five straight days before pulling back 1% in the stock market today . After the market rout last month, Nvidia has risen 30% since Feb. 11, and Avago has added 18%, compared to the S&P 500 index’s 9% gain. Broadcom is still down 6% for the year, and Nvidia is flat, while the S&P has declined 3%. Analysts are looking for earnings per share of $2.30 for Broadcom’s fiscal 2016 first quarter, on revenue up 6% to $1.75 billion. Nvidia’s latest quarter, reported in February, brought 12% revenue growth with gains across all market platforms that the company serves: gaming, professional visualization, data center and automotive. Chips Go In Cars, Cloud And Consumer Electronics Both Broadcom and Nvidia serve a variety of industries, and they’re both Apple ( AAPL ) suppliers. One growing field for both is connected cars, as automakers add more entertainment and information technology, and as vehicles move closer to self-driving. At the Geneva International Motor Show underway this week, Daimler ( DDAIF ) showed off a self-braking and self-parking Mercedes E-Class. Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) is also there, and its Autopilot technology recently made an MIT Technology Review list of the top 10 technology developments for 2016. Several other chipmakers playing in car tech, among other fields, have recovered to or above their key 50-day lines in the past couple weeks. Though not as highly rated by IBD as are Nvidia and Broadcom, they include Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ) with an 81 Composite Rating, Ambarella ( AMBA ) with a 74, Qorvo ( QRVO ) with a 63, and NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) with a 67. In all, Broadcom supplies analog and digital chips for uses such as data center networking, home connectivity, broadband access, telecom equipment, smartphones and base stations, data center servers and storage, factory automation, power generation and alternative energy systems, and displays. Apple’s varying iPhone sales will be a factor for Broadcom. “Given an uncertain demand environment within storage and the recent iPhone inventory correction,” Pacific Crest Securities analyst John Vinh wrote in a research note, “we see limited revenue upside opportunities. However, we expect investors to look through to the ramp of the iPhone 7, where we anticipate over 20% content gains.” Sterne Agee analyst Doug Freedman said in a research note that Broadcom is his 2016 top-pick idea, “as we believe the smartphone weakness is well reflected in estimates and will likely be more than offset by the consolidated business outlook going forward.”