Semiconductor stocks and ETFs are in focus today, after motherboard vendors reported a big drop in shipments for the first quarter.
The downturn was even more unexpected, given the recent release of new processors and graphics cards released by major manufacturers. From the DigiTimes:
Despite INTC, AMD and NVDA having all launched new processor or graphics chip products for the first quarter, motherboard players continue to suffer decreased shipments in the quarter and demand is also unlikely to pick up in the second, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Intel released several Kaby Lake-based processors and 200 series chipsets including the Z270 in January. AMD’s 8-core Ryzen 7 1800X, 1700X and 1700 were launched in early March and Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1080 Ti also hit store shelves in March.
Motherboard shipments are considered an indicator for semiconductor sales. Motherboards often contain on-board graphics and processing chipsets, and those that don’t require separate graphics cards and CPUs to function.
On the ETF side of things, the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSE:SMH) was trading at $78.48 per share on Thursday morning, down $0.27 (-0.34%). Year-to-date, SMH has gained 9.55%, versus a 4.71% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
SMH currently has an ETF Daily News SMART Grade of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #19 of 54 ETFs in the Technology Equities ETFs category.
The iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) was trading at $135.55 per share on Thursday morning, up $1.42 (+1.06%). Year-to-date, SOXX has gained 10.45%.
SOXX currently has an ETF Daily News SMART Grade of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #11 of 54 ETFs in the Technology Equities ETFs category.