Some news about Intel. Yield issues on 20nm are all over the news.
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Tech Today: Intel to Apple’s Rescue? GrubHub Rising, GT Advanced Bonuses
By Tiernan Ray
Here are some things going on today in your world of tech:
Could Intel (INTC) be in a position to be Apple’s (AAPL) savior? That intriguing bit comes from Drexel Hamilton’s chip analyst Rick Whittington, from a note on Micron. In passing, Whittington notes problems had by Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) and Samsung Electronics (005930KS) trying to produce 3-D transistors.
Intel has mastered 3-D transistors, and so, writes Whittington “btw, very good for Intel if neither Samsung or TSM can do FinFET this next year; puts them in line to supply Apple’s internal foundry needs; more likely TSM/Samsung operate FinFET under very low yield output, keeping capacity tight.”
Intel shares are down 2 cents at $36.74.
Speaking of semiconductors, chip equipment analyst Robert Maire with Semiwatch today continues his theme that something is wrong at contract manufacturer Global Foundries. Yesterday, I wrote Global refuted notions there was any delay in its plan for chip making just because it is “warehousing” some chip-making tools.
Maire today calls that just a bunch of PR spin: “Because our yields are so good and our ramp so fast we decided to deliver the tools to a warehouse rather than the fab where they can be used….. I have a bridge for sale in Brooklyn…..” Maire reiterates some tool makers are going to see a revenue shortfall.
Shares of food delivery service GrubHub (GRUB) are up 21 cents, or 0.6%, at $36.08, after Barrington Research’s Jeff Houston late yesterday raised his rating on the shares to Outperform from Market Perform, with a $43 price target, lauding management and writing that “ given how convenient and compelling its services are to hungry diners, we believe that it will continue to create incremental demand that was non-existent through the traditional alternative, i.e., takeout menus in kitchen drawers.”
Shares of wireless networking equipment maker Aviat Networks (AVNW) are up 3 cents, or 2%, at $1.51, after Needham & Co.’s Richard Valera reinstated coverage of the shares with a Buy rating following the retirement announcement on Christmas eve of its CFO, Ned Hayes. That departure had concerned Valera, as had a number of “material weaknesses with respect to financial controls” that he said were revealed in the company’s 10-K, published just two days before Hayes retired.
But Valera has spoken with the company’s management and he’s “comfortable that the company is unlikely to have to restate any prior financial results.”
Valera’s colleague, chip analyst Quinn Bolton, this morning raised his price target on Sigma Designs (SIGM), to $8 from $7, and reiterated a Buy rating, writing that next week’s Consumer Electronics Show should highlight how the company is an excellent “play” on two key themes in electronics, 4K television sets, and Internet of Things.
Bolton notes Sigma’s “SX6” video processor for converting video to 4K; he also lauds its “Z-Wave wireless mesh networking” products for connected homes.
Sigma shares are up 19 cents, or 2.8%, at $6.60.
Another semi name getting a lift today is Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), up $1.27, or 1.7%, at $74.13, after D.A. Davidson’s Thomas Diffely reiterated a Buy rating, and raised his price target to $85 from $75, writing that two “drivers” will remain in place the next couple of years, the rise of LTE networks in China, and “increased complexity of RF content in the latest generation smartphones.”
GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT), the bankrupt sapphire tools producer that had tried and failed with Apple to produce large quantities of the material, has requested in bankruptcy court that it be allowed to pay millions in bonuses to key executives in order to help get its business going again. As Peg Brickley of The Wall Street Journal reports, after letting go 800 workers, the company said morale is low, according to a filing yesterday.
And if you’re looking for a current Apple supplier, Jefferies & Co. today distributes a note from Fubon Research’s Sean Ryan Hsiao, who initiates coverage of Taiwan’s CviLux (8103TW) with an “Add” rating, and a $65 price target in New Taiwan dollars.
CviLux, according to Hsiao, may see revenue rise 17% this year, thanks to “the initial shipment of file protector storage products to Apple.” Hsiao doesn’t go into detail as to what those file protectors are.
