Tag Archives: stocks

Tech Investors: 6 Highly Rated Chip Stocks Approach Buy Zones

With the market in a confirmed uptrend, it’s time to scan for stocks to potentially add to your portfolio. Let’s take a look at six highly rated chip stocks that are nearing buy points: Broadcom ( AVGO ), Macom Technology ( MTSI ), Maxlinear ( MXL ), Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ), Microsemi ( MSCC ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ). Two Form Double-Bottom Bases Broadcom earns a near-best IBD Composite Rating of 98 out of 99 and is due to report quarterly results after the close today. Analysts expect earnings to increase 10% and revenue to rise 6%. Broadcom has formed a double-bottom base within a larger consolidation pattern. Shares edged a few cents above the 138.79 buy point in intraday trade on Thursday, but they reversed lower with a 0.9% drop. Broadcom is 10% below its high reached last June. Macom Technology is also working on a double-bottom base, which has a 41.42 buy point. After retaking its 50-day line a few sessions ago, it’s now just 2% below the buy zone. Shares rallied 1.7% Thursday. Macom has a Composite Rating of 98 as well. The rating is based on fundamental and technical factors, including earnings and sales growth, profit margins, return on equity and relative share-price performance. Working On Right Side Of Pattern Maxlinear has a highest-possible 99 Composite Rating. It’s trading about 5% below a cup-base buy point of 17.85, but it slipped 1.7% Thursday. The stock was able to find support at its 200-day line as it formed the base. Apple ( AAPL ) chip supplier Cirrus Logic is trading 6% below a buy point from a nine-month-long consolidation pattern. Shares reversed lower Thursday in light volume, falling 1.7%. Cirrus has a 95 Composite Rating, as does Microsemi. Microsemi is trading 9% below a 39.66 buy point. It was able to retake its 200-day line last week in above-average volume. And Nvidia, a Tesla ( TSLA ) partner, is trading 4% below a buy point at 34.04. The stock gapped up to retake its 50-day line last month on the back of a strong quarterly report. Nvidia has a 99 Composite Rating.

Stratasys Q4 Beats But Shows Ongoing Struggles In 3D Printing Field

Working through a restructuring in a tough market, 3D printer maker Stratasys ( SSYS ) early Thursday reported a Q4 loss and big drop in revenue that nevertheless beat expectations on the top and bottom lines. Q4 revenue fell 20% from the year-earlier quarter to $173.4 million, but that beat the analyst consensus estimate of $169.3 million. It marked the second quarter in a row of declining revenue. The company reported a net loss of $232.3 million, or $4.46 per share. When adjusted for one-time items, Stratasys reported a loss of 1 cent, vs. consensus estimates for an 11-cent loss, as polled by Thomson Reuters. Stratasys stock was up 12.5%, near 23, in midday trading in the stock market today . Stratasys is up 55% since hitting an all-time low of 14.88 on Jan. 26. 3D printer stocks have rebounded in the past month-plus after suffering sharp drops. 3D Systems ( DDD ) stock was up 5% midday Thursday, near 12.40, after hitting its all-time low of 6 on Jan. 20. ExOne ( XONE ) was up 5.5%, near 11, and  Voxeljet ( VJET ) stock also was up 5.5%, near 5.25. Shares of Stratasys and 3D Systems, the two industry leaders, have been crushed since mid-2014, as both have posted disappointing quarterly earnings reports going back more than a year. For 2016, Stratasys guided to revenue of $700 to $730 million, up 3% at the midpoint. Analyst consensus is $700.6 million. It expects EPS ex items of 17 cents to 43 cents, vs. the consensus of 18 cents. Analysts have not been convinced of a rebound in the 3D printing industry. “There are no signs of a broad-based recovery yet, in our view, so demand commentary from Stratasys will be important,” wrote Weston Twigg, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, in a research note prior to the Stratasys report. “An industry rebound is not yet visible amid weak global capital spending trends,” Cowen analyst Robert Stone wrote, also before Stratasys earnings. During the quarter, Stratasys said it cut its workforce by 10% and “initiated programs to reduce operating expenses and optimize manufacturing.” In its earnings release, Stratasys said it can achieve a significant improvement in its operating structure in 2016 that will translate into improved operating profit compared with 2015. “Our fourth-quarter results reflect the impact of a market environment that is consistent with conditions we have observed throughout the year,” CEO David Reis said in the earnings release. “We are making progress in optimizing our company’s cost structure and improving working capital management, and were satisfied to observe a favorable trend in operating expenses and positive cash flow from operations during the quarter.”