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Technology Stocks : WDC/Sandisk Corporation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jokesonme who wrote (39101)	3/25/2008 9:32:25 AM
From: im a survivor	Respond to of 60323

Solid Chip Stocks : Time To Buy Coming Soon ? Article Tools Email this Article Print this Article Rss Feed Digg this Article Save to Del.icio.us Share on Facebook 1 Member Recommended this article Recommend it Semiconductor stocks have taken quite a tumble since peaking in early 2007, with many stocks losing half their value or more in reaction to issues ranging from the collapse in memory prices to the general slowdown in momentum for the sector. One of my prime responsibilities here at TheStreet.com is to run the Breakout Stocks service that assembles a model portfolio of stocks that are cheap in price now but should soar in the future. With that in mind, now is a good time to look aggressively for semiconductor stocks that can be picked up on the cheap. Therefore, I'm going to discuss some of the semi stocks that are currently on my radar screen for the Breakout Stocks service. The first name on our list is flash memory heavyweight SanDisk(SNDK - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), which has tumbled from a high of $79.80 in January 2006 to Monday's close of $21.77. While demand for flash continues to grow significantly, pricing has deteriorated at an astounding rate. So while SanDisk's profitability hasn't evaporated in the same way it has for DRAM memory names such as Micron(MU - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Qimonda(QI - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), investor sentiment toward the stock is fairly negative. According to Capital IQ, just eight of the 19 analysts covering SanDisk rate it a buy, and it trades at just 12 times expected full-year earnings. In addition, SanDisk has a strong balance sheet with nearly $1.7 billion in net cash. That accounts for about one-third of its market cap, which could serve to help limit downside in the stock. I will wait for SanDisk to trade below $20 a share before considering taking a position in the stock.

To: jokesonme who wrote (39101)	3/25/2008 11:45:24 AM
From: Art Bechhoefer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 60323

That [SSD] is about the only thing right now that will differentiate the company and help margins SSD is only one of many products that may help margins. The potential from 3-bit flash cards for permanent archiving could be much greater. The 3-bit technology also provides a lower cost NAND flash (potentially) than MLC, but it is only marginally lower. The version that allows permanent archiving and is virtually indestructible seems a better bet. Then look at the potential from the MP3 players. Even though they are unlikely to make more than a dent in the market dominated by Apple, they provide a retail outlet for low cost NAND memory and thereby increase SanDisk's margins. All I'm saying is that there are many products in the pipeline that serve to expand demand and give SNDK a profit edge over its competitors, such that the current valuation is unreasonably low. Remember that the current price of SNDK is less than its book value, and its book value does not even take into account the intrinsic value of most of its patents. It's true that the conventional thinking on SNDK lumps it with other semiconductor companies, no matter what the others produce, and at what profit (or loss). At its present price, someone is likely to attempt to takeover the company. I do not think there is any basis for a claim that management is incompetent. About the only thing they could do that they aren't doing at present is to try to create a market not solely dependent on consumers. Several years ago the management was experimenting with NAND memory "dog tags" that could hold the entire medical record of combat troops on a bracelet. Medical record storage would be an application that would help keep revenues from being dependent solely on consumer buying. It may be too early to explore such applications (particularly since the current administration is in no hurry to change the delivery or efficiency of health care), but it's an example of where I would like to see demand going, rather than for more and more consumer items. Art