BOSTON, March 9, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The pmcw Report (http://www.pmcwreport.net/) recently commented on its outlook for the semiconductor industry including a comprehensive review of a number of major companies in the sector.
The pmcw Report is a subscription investment newsletter started by twenty-year semiconductor veteran Paul McWilliams. McWilliams was also named by SmartMoney as one of the thirty most influential people in investing.
Started in September 2002, the pmcw Report's model equity portfolio positions have returned a staggering 365%, well outdistancing the Nasdaq's 56% gain over the same period. Since January 1st, 2004, the report's equity positions have gained over 28%.
In his most recent coverage of monthly worldwide semi sales, McWilliams was days ahead of the pack when he said the numbers indicate sales into the PC sector were soft. Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) confirmed his prediction during their mid-quarter update.
In his latest review of the industry, McWilliams used his twenty years of industry experience to provide insights on nearly thirty semiconductor manufacturers including their business models and valuations. He was clear about which stocks he would avoid, which would likely make good long-term investments and which he sees strictly as short-term trading plays. He also provided his opinion as to what prices he would consider as a good entry level.
Some examples of the topics and companies McWilliams covered his report include:
-- Even though he isn't impressed with Atmel's (Nasdaq:ATML) management, why McWilliams thinks the shift to Asian fabricators to transfer some of their Flash and ASIC products is a good sign and that the company could be an interesting short-term play.
-- Why he thinks LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI), a pmcw Investment idea for a maximum gain of over 220%, could make for an interesting trade in advance of the company's Q2 storage business spin-off.
-- Why he is still bullish on On Semiconductor (ONNN) as a commodity play and why thinks the shares could hit the $12 range. He first mentioned the company as a higher risk commodity play at the $4 level.
-- Why Triquint (Nasdaq:TQNT) and RF Micro Devices' (Nasdaq:RFMD) specialization in GaAs processes will likely find some serious long-term pressure from the cheaper to produce CMOS processes of which Silicon Laboratories (Nasdaq:SLAB) is a large player.
-- Why he is still bullish on Vitesse Semiconductor (Nasdaq:VTSS) and why it remains his favorite in the telecom segment. Vitesse was a pmcw Investment Idea for nearly a 300% maximum gain.
Other companies mentioned in the report include:
Qualcomm (Nasdaq:QCOM), National Semiconductor (NYSE:NSM), Integrated Device Technology (Nasdaq:IDTI), Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE:CY), Conexant (Nasdaq:CNXT), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD), Altera (Nasdaq:ALTR), Xilinx (Nasdaq:XLNX), Broadcom (Nasdaq:BRCM), Fairchild (NYSE:FCS), Lattice Semiconductor (Nasdaq:LSCC), Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), Applied Micro Circuits (Nasdaq:AMCC), Nvidia (Nasdaq:NVDA), Marvel (Nasdaq:MRVL)
When asked what readers of his report should expect for the rest of 2004 he responded, "We can't stay ahead by following the pack; we will continue to leverage our extensive network of contacts and field research to uncover ideas before they are broadly known or understood by the investing public."
Those interested in reading his detailed report about the above companies and portfolio recommendations can sign up for a free thirty-day trial to his service: http://www.pmcwreport.net/join.php3?refer=PZ24
About the pmcw Report
The pmcw Report is a subscription financial newsletter managed by semiconductor veteran Paul McWilliams and RagingBull.com founder Rusty Szurek. Members enjoy daily postings, economic updates and a model portfolio.
To learn more please visit: http://www.pmcwreport.net/join.php3?refer=PZ24