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The Wall Street Transcript publishes Outlook for Semiconductors Report in Robertson Stephens Tech 2000 Special Issue
NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- 21 leading analysts and 33 Technology CEOs examine the Technology sector in the latest issue of The Wall Street Transcript (212-952-7433) or twst.com.
In a crucial review of this sector for investors and industry professionals, this valuable 174-page Special Issue features:
1) Outlook for Semiconductors -- In an in-depth Analyst Interview (2,500 words) Arun Veerappan, Vice President and Senior Analyst with Robertson Stephens, examines the semiconductor sector, supply/demand, communications semiconductor companies, the analog sector and shares his stock recommendations.
Veerappan explains "capacity, which has been in excess supply for two years or so, has started to come into balance and even, in certain instances, to become tight as we exited 1999. So on that front, we are certainly in good standing as far as semiconductor suppliers are concerned. That's the first point. The second point is that I think demand has been very robust, especially in the communications arena, which is where I put most of my energy and focus. So the combination of robust demand and tightening capacity has really been a boon for semiconductor stocks."
Veerappan says, "I look at the top 10 market cap semiconductor companies in the entire globe and, increasingly, you're starting to see communications semiconductor companies get into that group. The other band that I measure is how many $10 billion market cap semiconductor device companies exist. And if you notice, all the new entrants have been communications companies, Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) and PMC-Sierra (Nasdaq: PMCS), most notably. So I think that's a very telling point. I think communications is where the growth is."
Veerappan asserts "Broadcom has several competitors because they are not focused solely on one market. The competitors range from National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM), Galileo (Nasdaq: GALT) and Intel/Level One (Nasdaq: INTC) in the ethernet marketplace to Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) and Conexant (Nasdaq: CNXT) in the cable marketplace and C-Cube (Nasdaq: CUBE) and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) in the set-top box marketplace. They have a home networking product line in which at this point they have a monopolistic position, but that technology competes with powerline networking made by companies like Intellon and with wireless LAN technologies as well. So they don't have one competitor; the competition is diversified."
Veerappan says, "There's a company that I cover called PMC-Sierra that I rate as a Strong Buy. They sell squarely into the core of the network. They have the best customer relationships in the industry. Their top customers are Cisco, Lucent and Nortel -- probably the best combination that one could hope for. Perhaps more significant is that 50% of their revenue comes from products that were introduced before 1995, 90% of their revenue comes from products that were introduced in 1997 and before. So the products that they introduced in the last two years have still not hit the revenue stream, and when they do it's going to be big. This is a company that I would say squarely fits the core of the network investment thesis that I have outlined."
Veerappan adds, "Since 1990, the Robertson Stephens Analog Index has outperformed every major index, be it the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, the Nasdaq or the S&P 500. In fact, it's even outperformed Intel over the past decade, and one would argue that the 1990s were the decade of Intel! So I would say analog is a sector that's here to stay because the world is an analog world."
Veerappan highlights an analog company, Micrel (Nasdaq: MCRL). He says, "Micrel has had the vision to focus on the communications end-market and make analog product for the communication sector because they viewed it as the sector that will drive semiconductor demand over the next decade. They have been able to do that very well. I would say Micrel stands out."
Veerappan concludes by talking about two other companies, "Maxim (Nasdaq: MXIM) and Linear (Nasdaq: LLTC) have been the original high-performance analog companies. They have been focusing at the high end of the analog market. They have been addressing opportunities where they have a unique value to add. Power Integrations is a young public company focused on one particular area, the AC to DC conversion sector, and has become the high-performance vendor of choice in that market. This company is rapidly trying to migrate and graduate to what I call the diversified high-performance analog vendor list. They are gradually doing that."
This 174-page Robertson Stephens Tech 2000 Issue also includes:
2) The following Robertson Stephens Analyst Interviews (avg. 2,000-words) include:
Outlook for Robertson Stephens, Robert Emery
Outlook for Tech 2000, John Rohal
Business Software, Eric Upin
Semiconductor Capital Equipment, Susan Billat
eNetworking Software, John Powers
Outlook for Computer Hardware, Daniel Niles
Outlook for eServices, Stephen Birer
Next Generation Networks, Paul Johnson
Oulook for eBusiness, Marshall Senk
eTailing, Lauren Cooks Levitan
Outlook for eFinance, Scott Appleby
Computer Services & Outsourcers, Andrew Jeffrey
Outsourced Infrastructure Services, Richard Juarez
Communications Equipment, Paul Silverstein
eNetworks & Convergence Companies, Michael Graham
eMarketing, Lowell Singer
Digital Media Infrastructure, Arnab Chanda
eBusiness Applications, Kash Rangan
European eBusiness Software & IT Services, Sharon Corr
Network Storage, Dane Lewis
3) 33 extensive (average 2,000 words) CEO Interviews with top management from the following sector firms discussing the outlook for their firm and the Technology sector:
Advanced Energy Industries, Aware, BackWeb Technologies, Cabletron Systems, Cobalt Networks, CSG Systems International, Emulex Corporation, Extreme Networks, Fiserv, Gadzoox Networks, HearMe, Immersion Corporation, MCK Communications, Media Metrix, MessageMedia, MIPS Technologies, Multex.com, National Instruments Corporation, Netopia, PairGain Technologies, Pervasive Software, priceline.com, ProBusiness Services, QLogic Corporation, Rambus, Ramp Networks, ReSourcePhoenix.com, Silicon Image, SmartDisk Corporation, SportsLine.com, Tut Systems, Veritas Software Corporation, Vitria Technology.
For a complete list of CEO interviews see twst.com.
To obtain a copy of this insightful 174-page report, see twst.com or call 212-952-7433. This special section is also included in the Technology Sector of TWST Online at twst.com.
The Wall Street Transcript is a premier weekly investment publication interviewing market professionals for serious investors for over 35 years. Available at twst.com. TWST Online provides free Interview excerpts. For highlights, recent recommendations by analysts and money managers and business news, visit twst.com.
Do a free search of the extensive TWST Archives at archive.twst.com
The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewee nor does it make stock recommendations.
SOURCE Wall Street Transcript
CO: Wall Street Transcript
ST: Connecticut
IN: FIN CPR
SU:
03/03/2000 12:47 EST prnewswire.com |
