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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Donald Wennerstrom who wrote (59796)	5/4/2013 11:45:23 AM
From: Donald Wennerstrom	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95383

This is the weekly look at the SOXM stocks in terms of earnings estimates, growth estimates, and price changes sorted by price percent change. There is a disconnect this week between the strong price increases in the stocks, and the bottom line, compared to earnings and growth estimates. There were many changes in the earnings estimates, both positive and negative, but the bottom line was a decrease. Only 1 stock had its growth estimate changed, KLIC, but it was in the negative direction. AMD had its biggest week of gain in over a decade at 36.4 percent. A story from MarketWatch on the possible reason for the gain is shown below this table. <<AMD scores huge gains on game chatter 4:33 PM ET 5/3/13 \| Marketwatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. enjoyed their biggest week of gains in more than a decade, though the size of the run-up has left some analysts puzzled, given the still-uncertain outlook for the chip maker. The most commonly cited reason for the gains is the major role that AMD's AMD) processors are expected to play in the next generation of videogame consoles, though short-covering and deal rumors have also been noted as factors. AMD shares traded up nearly 6% to close at $3.60. The stock ended the week with a gain of 36.4%, putting it just under its best week ever logged in October of 2002, according to FactSet. "Most investors I talked to are kind of perplexed by it," Evercore Partners analyst Patrick Wang told MarketWatch, speaking of the stock's recent run-up. Wang said some of the gains may be based on some short-covering trades. "A lot of folks are pointing to the console opportunity as the reason why the stock is moving," he added. AMD appears to be ready to cash in on expanding relationships with the makers of videogame consoles. Sony SNE) has already confirmed that the PlayStation 4, due out this fall, will use a CPU designed by AMD. MicrosoftMSFT) is expected to unveil a new Xbox later this month, and several media outlets have reported that it will also use an AMD chip, though the company has not confirmed this. Bernstein Research analyst Stacy Rasgon cited speculation about the gaming business and what that will mean for AMD as the main reason for the stock's recent gains. "Right now, it's someone making a bet on the console opportunity," Rasgon told MarketWatch. AMD executives were recently in New York meeting with investors, and the speculation is that they have been touting the gaming-console opportunities. An AMD spokesman later told MarketWatch that company executives discussed opportunities "in the context" of the Sony PlayStation, but they "weren't touting any potential Microsoft win." Still, some analysts have speculated about big AMD news in the soon-to-be-released Xbox. Representatives from AMD and Microsoft said that nothing has been announced. Cody Acree of Williams Financial said the rally was surprising, but added that it makes sense given AMD's recent momentum in the gaming console space. AMD has drawn revenue from that market through royalties for its graphics chip business, including from the current Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. But Acree said the company also has begun making semi-custom chips that combine both central processing and graphics capabilities. Those products are based on AMD's Accelerated Processing Unit processors -- chips that combine both processing and graphics capabilities. If the Xbox speculation turns out to be correct, that could represent a big boost to AMD. "It looks like they're sweeping the market," Acree told MarketWatch. "This becomes pretty material. ... You're increasing your dollar content per box pretty significantly." Still, some analysts are cautious. "Right now, it's a bet," Rasgon told MarketWatch. "It's really tempting. [But] I'm really hesitant. .. The worry is, this is all fine and dandy, but what about the core business?" AMD still faces a collapsing PC market, which has also hurt rival Intel Corp.INTC) And although AMD's stock has jumped 50% since the beginning of the year, it is still down 50% for the last 12 months. Wang of Evercore Partners also downplayed the expectations in the console market. "It's hard to get behind an enterprise company based on two design wins," he said. The company's future, he said, "comes down to whether AMD will able to turn the PC business.">>