Semiconductors, Memory and SSDs Specialist, Objective Analysis

Jim Handy

Semiconductors, Memory and SSDs Specialist

Objective Analysis

Objective Analysis offers third-party independent market research and data for the semiconductor industry and investors in the semiconductor industry.

Semiconductors, Memory and SSDs

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In its most recent earnings call Western Digital executives told investors that the flash memory business has hit its trough, implying that revenues will start to rise again.In this SmartKarma Insight I will evaluate that comment and explain why revenues are likely to rise while margins will remain low for several more quarters.

In its most recent earnings call Western Digital executives told investors that the flash memory business has hit its trough, implying that revenues will start to rise again.In this SmartKarma Insight I will evaluate that comment and explain why revenues are likely to rise while margins will remain low for several more quarters.

Memory chips are a strong indicator of the overall health of the semiconductor market.  Recent upward motion in memory prices has given some investors hopes that the current downturn has ended.This sentiment is premature, as is explained in this SmartKarma Insight.  The current uptick will be short lived as past capital spending guarantees that the market still needs to endure a prolonged oversupply.

Memory chips are a strong indicator of the overall health of the semiconductor market.  Recent upward motion in memory prices has given some investors hopes that the current downturn has ended.This sentiment is premature, as is explained in this SmartKarma Insight.  The current uptick will be short lived as past capital spending guarantees that the market still needs to endure a prolonged oversupply.

Semiconductor Memory Prices Still Falling

Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

Equity Bottom-Up

Samsung is not getting etching gas from Japanese suppliers. This situation hasn't changed since early July. Then, what's really going on at Samsung? Is this really a crisis? LJY urgently left for Japan. It was later disclosed that this trip was mainly for securing as much etching gas as possible before things would get worse. Did he succeed? We don't know for sure. Samsung is staying extremely quiet on all aspects of the current Korea/Japan feud.

Samsung is not getting etching gas from Japanese suppliers. This situation hasn't changed since early July. Then, what's really going on at Samsung? Is this really a crisis? LJY urgently left for Japan. It was later disclosed that this trip was mainly for securing as much etching gas as possible before things would get worse. Did he succeed? We don't know for sure. Samsung is staying extremely quiet on all aspects of the current Korea/Japan feud. 

Samsung Etching Gas Situation Checkup: Samsung Is Still a Short

Equity Capital Markets

Samsung Electronics / Equity Capital Markets

Samsung will have 2Q earnings CC this Wed July 31. The whole focus will be on memory chip production cut. Micro started it, and Hynix followed. So, will Samsung follow? Production cut is something Samsung has never done since 1996, and the general local view is also that Samsung will stick to its long standing strategic stance. That is, Samsung won't follow its peers. Here are the reasons.

Samsung will have 2Q earnings CC this Wed July 31. The whole focus will be on memory chip production cut. Micro started it, and Hynix followed. So, will Samsung follow? Production cut is something Samsung has never done since 1996, and the general local view is also that Samsung will stick to its long standing strategic stance. That is, Samsung won't follow its peers. Here are the reasons.

Samsung Situation: Memory Production Cut Checkup

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

The S&amp;P 500 continues to move higher on narrow leadership, which is not inspiring a bullish outlook. Currently leading the S&amp;P 500 higher in terms of RS are Technology, Services, Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), and Procter &amp; Gamble (PG). If this were a bull market, (1) PG would likely NOT be listed here as leadership, and (2) we would expect to see participation broaden out to Discretionary (RCD), Transportation (IYT), banks (KBE), Industrials (XLI), and small-caps (IWM). All of these areas are still consolidating below meaningful resistance, and we continue to believe upside is likely to be muted as long as this rings true.In today’s report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within Transportation, Materials, and Services:

The S&amp;P 500 continues to move higher on narrow leadership, which is not inspiring a bullish outlook. Currently leading the S&amp;P 500 higher in terms of RS are Technology, Services, Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), and Procter &amp; Gamble (PG). If this were a bull market, (1) PG would likely NOT be listed here as leadership, and (2) we would expect to see participation broaden out to Discretionary (RCD), Transportation (IYT), banks (KBE), Industrials (XLI), and small-caps (IWM). All of these areas are still consolidating below meaningful resistance, and we continue to believe upside is likely to be muted as long as this rings true.In today’s report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within Transportation, Materials, and Services:

U.S. Equity Strategy: Semiconductors, Transportation Improving

United States

Micron Technology, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets dynamic random access memory chips (DRAMs), very fast static random access memory chips (SRAMs), Flash Memory, other semiconductor components, and memory modules.

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Micron Technology (MU US)

Have We Hit the NAND Flash Trough?

In its most recent earnings call Western Digital executives told investors that the flash memory business has hit its trough, implying that...

Jim Handy

Semiconductor Memory Prices Still Falling

Memory chips are a strong indicator of the overall health of the semiconductor market. Recent upward motion in memory prices has given some...

Jim Handy

Samsung Etching Gas Situation Checkup: Samsung Is Still a Short

Samsung is not getting etching gas from Japanese suppliers. This situation hasn't changed since early July. Then, what's really going on at...

Sanghyun Park

Samsung Situation: Memory Production Cut Checkup

Samsung will have 2Q earnings CC this Wed July 31. The whole focus will be on memory chip production cut. Micro started it, and Hynix followed. So,...

Sanghyun Park

U.S. Equity Strategy: Semiconductors, Transportation Improving

The S&P 500 continues to move higher on narrow leadership, which is not inspiring a bullish outlook. Currently leading the S&P 500 higher...

Vermilion Research

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