CHICAGO, July 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog includethe Google (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report), Qualcomm (Nasdaq:QCOM-Free Report), Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report), Intel (Nasdaq:INTC-Free Report) and Lam Research (Nasdaq:LRCX-Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its 'Buy' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:
Technology Stock Roundup
Last week was not too good for big tech, but most did better than the market nonetheless. A quick look at some of the top stories-
The Bug in the First Android Watches
Right after the first Android smartwatches started shipping from Google's (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report) Play Store, Android Police identified a bug that was preventing the installation of paid apps on the devices. Google was able to work on a quick fix before the devices reached most customers, so there likely won't be too much of a backlash.
Samsung and LG made the first Android watches. Samsung's Gear Live at $199 is slightly cheaper than LG's G Watch, which costs $229. Both are powered by Qualcomm (Nasdaq:QCOM-Free Report), run on Android Wear (the new OS for wearables) and are operated by a smartphone running on Android 4.3 or higher. The Samsung device has apparently got a better display and more sensors, while the LG device has longer battery life.
Semi Foundries Have a Story to Tell
All the pure-play foundry stocks declined this past week, but there's more to the story.
The Chinese foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International started the week on a positive note following the announcement of its collaboration with Qualcomm. The two have agreed to work together on 28nm process technology so Qualcomm, which is fabless, can get some of its Snapdragon processors manufactured in China. SMI benefits because the agreement will help develop its 28nm process and because Snapdragon is a market-leading device.
United Microelectronics and Taiwan Semiconductor reported monthly sales numbers. Both saw sales up in the mid-teens percentage range, but this didn't have much of a positive impact on share prices. UMC is yet to get 28nm to scale, which means persistent pressure on margins. TSM is much better off, with stronger utilization, 20 nm ramp up and the positive impact of Apple's (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report) business.
But TSM's partiality to Apple is not having a very good effect on its other partners. Qualcomm is already getting closer to Samsung and last week, Panasonic took some business to Intel (Nasdaq:INTC-Free Report). As a result, Intel will make SoCs for the Japanese company's audio visual equipment using its 14nm process. This is a very big deal for Intel, which only recently decided to share its process lead with competitors. But the services will not be opened to all and sundry: CEO Krzanich has promised only "strategic" partners.
Additionally, In Semi Equipment World...
Lam Research (Nasdaq:LRCX-Free Report) shares jumped 4.01% after its analyst event at SEMICON. The company narrowed its CY14 WFE expectations to $32 billion, +/- $1 billion (previous +/- $2 billion). It now expects WFE spending of $35-40 billion by 2016/2017 (previous 2015/2016). The increased adoption of multi-patterning processes in logic and DRAM segments is expected to drive additional opportunities for Lam.
Management expects this to result in a market expansion opportunity of $2 billion by 2016/2017. This is expected to yield revenue, gross margin and operating margin of $5.6 billion, 46-47% and 21-23%, respectively, which are above previous expectations.
Today, Zacks is promoting its 'Buy' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
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