The second.

Unfortunately, chemistry is not going so well at the moment, but I am still convinced in the medium to long term.

I was inspired by a Focus Money article and because many people here are asking.

I won't be investing myself, it's too short-term for me. But there are still some very interesting companies.

Feel free to write in the comments whether such "copied articles" are of any use to the community or are legally correct :)

The signs of a peace process in Ukraine are solidifying. This is triggering a run on the stock market for shares that could benefit from reconstruction

Regardless of the political interpretation, the stock market has been turning its back on the war for several days now and is betting on the coming peace. Stocks that are likely to benefit from the reconstruction in Ukraine have soared. The UBS Ukraine Reconstruction Index, which comprises 25 of these stocks, has been climbing for days and is at an all-time high. "The effects of a possible ceasefire in Ukraine are still being underestimated on the financial markets," says Bernd Meyer, Chief Investment Strategist and Head of Multi Asset at Berenberg, who is convinced that the rally will continue. Reconstruction requires enormous resources. According to estimates by the World Bank, the costs for this amount to a total of 500 billion dollars - the equivalent of Austria's gross domestic product and more than three times Ukraine's annual economic output before the war. The money is likely to benefit construction companies, suppliers, infrastructure companies and banks in particular. European companies could be the main beneficiaries - especially from neighboring countries such as Poland and Hungary, but also the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany.

With Wärtsilä $WRT1V (-0.73%) a provider of technologies for the shipping and energy markets, and Konecranes $KCR (+1.6%) a manufacturer of industrial cranes and drive technology, Finnish companies are also on the list of potential peace beneficiaries - as are Italian companies such as the cement and building materials manufacturer Buzzi $BZU (-1.96%) The list is long. There is a great need for building materials, steel and cables to restore the destroyed infrastructure and energy supply. There is still no thematic fund or ETF on the beneficiaries of the reconstruction in Ukraine. Investors who want to benefit from this are therefore well advised to combine several securities into a portfolio themselves.

Banks: Erste Group Bank $EBS (-2.66%) Powszechna K. Osz $PKO (-2.09%) Santander Polska $SPL (+1.96%) Polska K. Opieki $PEO (+0.01%) Raiffeisen Bank Int.$RBI (+0.23%)

Construction: Wienerberger $WIE (-0.15%) Sniezka Construction $SKA Strabag $STR (-1.05%)

Insulation: Kingspan Group $KRX (-0.06%) Rockwool $ROCK B

Glass: Cie de Saint-Gobain $SGO (-0.91%)

Cranes: Konecranes $KCR (+1.6%)

Cement: CRH $CRH (+0.45%) Buzzi $BZU (-1.96%) Holcim $HOLN (+0.29%) Heidelberg Mat. $HEI (-1.77%)

Construction machinery: Caterpillar $CAT (+0.24%)

Mining: Ferrexpo $FXPO (-0.61%) Metso $METSO (-0.1%)

Chemicals: BASF $BAS (+1.24%)

Industrial gases: Air Liquide $AI (-0.81%)

Infrastructure: Schneider Electric $SU (-0.97%) Rexel $RXL (+0.42%) Wärtsilä $WRT1V (-0.73%) Weir Group $WEIR (+1.36%)

Infrastructure (E): Siemens Energy $ENR (-1.79%) Prysmian $PRY (+1.59%) NKT $NKT (+0.83%) Nexans $NEX (+1.82%)

Agriculture: Kernel $KER (-0.91%)

Logistics(warehouse): Kion $KGX (+1.39%)

Steel: Arcelor Mittal $MT (-0.07%) and for stainless steels Outukompu $OUT1V (+0.57%)

Sanitary technology: Geberit $GEBN (+1.05%)

Specialty chemicals: Evonik $EVK (-1.68%) Arkema $AKE (+0.14%) Wacker Chemie $WCH (+0.82%) Lanxess $LXS (+1.46%)

A few days before the Bundestag elections, Wall Street has discovered its special love for Europe and German second-line stocks. The small cap index MDaxwhich is usually overshadowed by the Dax, is suddenly enjoying a level of attention not seen for years. Several major Wall Street addresses have published analyses of the index of medium-sized companies almost simultaneously.

The MDax is considered to be one of the most undervalued indices in the Old World and this is precisely what makes it particularly attractive from Wall Street's perspective. The Bundestag elections are fueling this bet: if Germany manages to turn the economy around afterwards, the MDax could benefit disproportionately.

Around a third of the MDax companies' business is attributable to the domestic market. Accordingly, the local misery has weighed much more heavily on the index. By contrast, the index has not yet priced in the economic policy stimuli that could arise after the election.

Possible beneficiaries are (examples):

Through lower energy costs:

$WCH (+0.82%) | $LXS (+1.46%) | $GBF (+0.36%)

Improved consumer sentiment:

$CTS (-0.78%) | $BOSS (+0.25%) | $SIX2 (-5.99%)

Suitable funds could be

$EXID (-0.81%) | $MD4X (-0.85%)

Source (excerpts) & graphic:

WELT editorial team "Alles auf Aktien"

⬆️⬆️⬆️

- EXANE BNP raises the price target for ALLIANZ SE from EUR 271 to EUR 295. Underperform. $ALV (-0.37%)

- BARCLAYS raises the target price for AIRBUS from EUR 166 to EUR 200. Overweight. $AIR (+0.23%)

- UBS raises its price target for SAP from EUR 237 to EUR 283. Buy. $SAP (-0.89%)

- BERENBERG raises the price target for LVMH from EUR 695 to EUR 720. Buy. $MC (+0.44%)

- EXANE BNP raises the target price for MUNICH RE from EUR 550 to EUR 560. Outperform. $MUV2 (-4.19%)

- RBC raises the target price for SIEMENS from EUR 205 to EUR 225. Outperform. $SIE (+0.06%)

- CITIGROUP raises the price target for STELLANTIS from EUR 12.40 to EUR 13. Neutral. $STLA

- KEPLER CHEUVREUX raises the target price for DOUGLAS from 28.60 EUR to 29.90 EUR. Buy. $DOU (+1.76%)

- CITIGROUP raises the target price for DWS from EUR 43 to EUR 44.70. Buy. $DWS (-1.3%)

- CITIGROUP raises the price target for FRAPORT from EUR 62 to EUR 72. Buy. $FRA (-4.63%)

- UBS upgrades AMADEUS IT from Neutral to Buy and raises target price from EUR 67 to EUR 80. $AMS (+1.24%)

- DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises target price for PHILIPS from EUR 25 to EUR 26. Hold. $PHIA (+0.34%)

- DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises the target price for MAN GROUP from GBP 2.65 to GBP 2.75. Buy.

- GOLDMAN raises the target price for RIO TINTO from GBP 67 to GBP 73. Buy. $RIO (+2.17%)

- JEFFERIES raises the price target for SIEMENS ENERGY from EUR 31 to EUR 50. Hold. $ENR (-1.79%)

- RBC raises the target price for SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC from EUR 195 to EUR 210. $SU (-0.97%) Underperform.

- EXANE BNP upgrades HANNOVER RÜCK from Neutral to Outperform and raises target price from EUR 265 to EUR 285. $HNR1 (-3.95%)

⬇️⬇️⬇️

- DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH lowers the price target for NOVO NORDISK from DKK 1000 to DKK 900. Buy. $NOVO B (-2.05%)

- BOFA lowers the target price for RWE from EUR 44 to EUR 42. Buy. $RWE (+0.08%)

- JPMORGAN lowers the price target for NETFLIX from USD 1010 to USD 1000. Overweight. $NFLX (+0.19%)

- MORGAN STANLEY lowers the price target for SYMRISE from EUR 137 to EUR 130. Overweight. $SY1 (+0.07%)

- KEPLER CHEUVREUX lowers the target price for REDCARE PHARMACY from EUR 145 to EUR 138. Hold. $RDC (+0%)

- WARBURG RESEARCH lowers the target price for BECHTLE from EUR 51 to EUR 45. Buy. $BC8 (-0.36%)

- STIFEL downgrades WACKER CHEMIE from Buy to Hold. $WCH (+0.82%)

- RBC lowers the price target for DAIMLER TRUCK from EUR 55 to EUR 51. Outperform. $DTG (+0.7%)

From sand to chip: how is a modern semiconductor made?

Reading time: approx. 10min

1) INTRODUCTION

Since 2023 at the latest and the rapid rise of Nvidia $NVDA (+0.18%) semiconductors and "AI chips" in particular have been the talk of the town. Since then, investors have been chasing after almost every company that has something to do with the manufacture of chips, driving share prices to unimagined heights. However, hardly any investors really know how complex the value chain is within the production of modern chips.

In this article, I will give you an overview of the entire manufacturing process and the companies involved. Even if many of you have a vague idea that the production of modern chips is complex, you will certainly be surprised by how complex it really is in reality.

2) BASIC

The starting point for every chip are so-called wafers [1] - i.e. thin wafers, which usually consist of so-called high-purity monocrystalline silicon. In the field of power semiconductors, which primarily comprises chips for applications with higher currents and voltages, silicon carbide (SiC) or galium nitride (GaN) has recently also been used as the base material for the wafers.

In the so-called front end the actual core components of the chips - the so-called dies - are created and applied to the wafers. The dies are rectangular structures that contain the actual functionality of the later chip. The finished dies are then tested for their functionality and electrical properties. Each die that is found to be good is then integrated into the so-called backend where the individual dies are separated on the wafer. This is followed by the so-called packaging. The individual dies from the front end are then electrically contacted and integrated into a protective housing. In the end, this housing with the contacted die is what is usually called a chip chip.

Now that we have a rough overview of the overall process, let's take a closer look at the individual processes involved in producing the dies on the wafer. This is the area in which most highly complex machines are used and which is usually the most sensitive.

3) FROM SAND TO WAFER

Before wafers made of high-purity silicon can even be produced and the actual process for manufacturing dies can begin, the actual wafer must first be manufactured in almost perfect quality. To do this, quartz sand, which consists largely of silicon dioxide, is reduced with carbon at high temperatures. This produces so-called raw siliconwhich, with a purity of around 96%, is not yet anywhere near the quality required for the production of wafers.

In several chemical processes, which are carried out by Wacker Chemie
$WCH (+0.82%) or Siltronic
$WAF (-0.63%) are used to turn the "impure" silicon into so-called polycrystalline silicon with a purity of 99.9999999%. For every billion silicon atoms, there is then only one foreign atom in the silicon. However, this pure polycrystalline silicon is still not suitable for the production of wafers, as the crystal structure in the silicon is not uniform enough. In order to create the right crystal structure, the polycrystalline silicon is then melted again and a so-called ingotwhich is made from monocrystalline silicon is produced. A comparison between raw silicon and the ingot can be found in the following image [3]:

This ingot is then sawn into thin slices, which are then the final wafers for semiconductor production. The best-known wafer producers are Shin Etsu
$4063, (+1.37%)
Siltronic or GlobalWafers
$6488.

4) FROM THE WAFER TO THE DIE

The wafers described in the previous section can now be used to produce dies. The overall process for producing dies basically consists of applying a large number of layers using various chemical, mechanical and physical processes. The overall process (depending on the product) takes approx. 80 different layers on the wafer, requiring almost 1000 different process steps and 3 months
non-stop production are required [4].

A macroscopic analogy is useful here, which I have also taken from [4]. You can compare the overall process for producing dies with baking a large multi-layer cake. This cake has 80 layers and the recipe for baking consists of 1000 steps. It takes 3 months to make the cake and if even one layer of the cake deviates from the recipe by more than 1%, the whole cake collapses and has to be thrown away.

In the first process steps, the wafer is covered with billions tiny little transistors are created on the wafer, which are then all individually electrically contacted in the following steps. The final steps consist of electrically connecting the transistors to each other, resulting in a complete electrical circuit [4]:

Each individual layer of the approximately 80 layers in the die requires highly specialized processes, which can be roughly summarized as:

• Applying masks: Photolithography, photoresist coating (applying photoresist)
• Apply material: Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), Atomic Layer Deposition
• Remove material: Plasma annealing, Wet annealing, Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP)
• Modify material: Ion Implanting, Annealing
• Material cleaning
• Inspecting the layers: Optical, Microscopical, Focused Ion Beam, Defect Inspection

Apply masks

Ultimately, a mask can be thought of as an enlarged copy of the structure of a special layer in the die. These so-called photomasks are then scanned using so-called scanners or steppers "copied" in reduced size onto the wafer. The best-known manufacturer of such lithography systems is ASML
$ASML (-0.98%). It is currently the only producer of lithography systems that make it possible to produce structures smaller than 10 nanometers on the wafer. In today's powerful and modern chips, such as those found in smartphones, AI chips and processors, the smallest structures are around 3 nanometers in size. Other manufacturers of lithography systems for larger structures (10nm and larger) are Canon Electronics
$7739 or Nikon $7731 (+1.05%) .

The photomasks - i.e. the enlarged "copies" of the structures - are produced by companies such as Toppan $7911 (-1.5%) , Dai Nippon Printing
$7912 (-1.17%) or Hoya $7741 (-2.13%) manufactured. Systems for cleaning the photomasks or for applying the photoresist are produced, for example, by Suss Microtec
$SMHN (+1.31%) for example.

Apply/remove/modify/clean material

As can be seen in the overview above, there are a variety of methods and processes for modifying the material of a particular layer. As a result, there is a lot of different equipment that can handle a process very well with incredible specialization. The best-known and most successful equipment manufacturers include Applied Materials $AMAT (-0.88%), LAM Research
$LRCX (-0.55%), Tokyo Electron (TEL)
$8035, (+1.13%)
Suss Mictrotec, Entegris
$ENTG (-0.81%) and Axcelis $ACLS (-0.61%).

The material - for example, highly specialized chemicals - is of course also required for production. Companies such as Linde
$LIN (-0.51%), Air Liquide
$AI (-0.81%), Air Products
$APD (+0.08%) and Nippon Sanso
$4091 (+3.41%) are major manufacturers of process gases such as nitrogen, hydrogen and argon.

Inspect

As mentioned, every single layer in the manufacturing process of a die must be perfect in order to obtain a functional die at the end. Any small deviation or foreign particles can impair the functionality of the die. As the function of the die can only be checked precisely on the finished die, it is advantageous to inspect the individual layers for defects and deviations during production. Special machines are required for this, which must be able to do different things depending on the layer. Manufacturers of such machines include KLA
$KLAC (+0.06%) or Onto Innovation
$ONTO (+0%).

The following applies to almost all of the companies mentioned in this section: the companies are highly specialized and have quasi-monopolies on the machines for certain process steps. quasi-monopolies. Suitable equipment therefore usually costs several million dollars. In addition, some of the systems are so complex that they can only be serviced by the manufacturer's own service staff, which results in recurring service revenues for every machine sold. As a rule, each machine requires several highly specialized engineers to ensure long-term stable operation.

5) FROM THE DIE TO THE FINISHED CHIP

Once the wafer has been processed, the dies on the wafer are checked for functionality. There is highly specialized equipment for this, so-called probers. These probers test each individual chip several times, if necessary, to check the functionality implemented in the design. Manufacturers of such probers include Teradyne $TER (-0.96%), Keysight Technologies
$KEYS (-0.4%), Onto Innovation or Tokyo Electron. These probers have to control each individual die, some of which are only a few square millimetres in size, and contact the corresponding much smaller test structures with tiny needles. The testing process is sometimes outsourced to entire companies that offer die testing as a complete package. One example of such providers is Amkor Technology
$AMKR (-0.38%).

The processed and tested wafer is now sawn to obtain individual dies. The dies that are found to be good are then integrated into a protective housing in the backend. The dies that have not passed the functionality test are either sorted out or (depending on the error pattern) processed as a variant with reduced functionality similar to those with full functionality. After a final functional test in the package, the chip is ready for use.

6) FOUNDRIES, FABLESS & SOFTWARE

Now that we have an overview of the complex process of manufacturing a chip, let's zoom out a little further to understand which companies perform which tasks in the semiconductor industry.

It's funny that not once in the manufacturing process has the name Nvidia $NVDA (+0.18%) or Apple $AAPL (-0.57%) has been mentioned? Yet they have the most advanced chips, don't they?

The pure production of the chips is done by other companies - so-called foundries. Companies like Nvidia and even AMD $AMD (+0.55%) are in fact fablessThis means that they do not have their own production facilities but only supply the chip design and let the foundries manufacture the actual chip according to their design.

The design of a chip is like the blueprint for production - the foundries then take over the recipe creation and the actual production. There is special software for designing chips. Companies known for this software include Cadance Design
$CDNS (-0.21%) and Synopsys $SNPS (-0.39%). But also the industrial giant Siemens
$SIE (+0.06%) now also supplies software for designing integrated circuits. Synopsys also offers other software for data analysis within foundry production.

Speaking of foundries; the best known foundry is probably TSMC
$TSM, (-0.77%) which is the global market leader in foundries. TSMC designs itself no chips itself and specializes exclusively in the production of the most advanced generations of chips. Another major player that also masters the most advanced structure sizes is Samsung $005930. In contrast to TSMC manufactures Samsung also produces its own designs. Other large foundries are Global Foundries
$GFS, (-0.37%) which was originally a spin-off from AMD and the Taiwanese company United Micro Electronics
$UMC. (-0.36%)

The best-known fabless companies - i.e. companies without their own chip production - are Nvidia, Apple, AMD, ARM Holdings
$ARM, (-0.45%)
Broadcom $AVGO (-0.56%), MediaTek $2454 and Qualcomm $QCOM. (-0.12%) In the meantime Alphabet $GOOGL, (-0.45%)
Microsoft $MSFT, (-0.38%)
Amazon $AMZN (-0.41%) and Meta $META (-0.73%) have designed their own chips for certain functionalities and then have them manufactured in foundries.

In addition to foundries and fabless companies, there are of course also hybrid models, i.e. companies that take on both production and design. The best-known examples of this are, of course, companies such as Intel
$INTC (-0.44%) and Samsung. There is also a whole range of so-called Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM)which for the most part only manufacture their own designed chips and do not accept customer orders for production. Well-known companies such as Texas Instruments
$TXN, (+0.4%)
SK Hynix
$000660,
STMicroelectronics
$STMPA, (+0.1%)
NXP Semiconductors
$NXPI, (-0.4%)
Infineon $IFX (+0.01%) and Renesas $6723 (-4.16%) are among the IDMs.

FINAL WORD

The aim of this article was to provide an overview of the complexity of the semiconductor industry. I do not, of course no claim to be complete, as there are of course many other companies that are part of this value chain. As Getquin thrives on active exchange, I'll give you some food for thought to discuss in the comments below the article:

• feel free to link any other companies in the comments if you think I've forgotten any relevant ones
• what was the most surprising new information for you from the article?
• which companies from the article have you never heard of?
• before reading the article, did you know approximately how a modern chip is produced and what steps are necessary for this?

In general, I can recommend the 20-minute YouTube video at [4] to any interested reader. It provides an excellent animated overview of the manufacturing process of modern chips.

Stay tuned,

Yours Nico Uhlig (aka RealMichaelScott)

SOURCES:

[1] Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wafer

[2] https://www.halbleiter.org/waferherstellung/einkristall/

[3] https://solarmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/solarmuseum_org-07917.jpg

[4] Branch Education on YouTube: "How are Microchips Made?" https://youtu.be/dX9CGRZwD-w?si=xeV0TYgJ2iwNOKyO

After being a mostly silent reader for over a year now, watching with interest what strategies and views others are pursuing:

Today I would like to share my first milestone with you - and most likely (never say never) my last.

After the last few weeks have been rather sideways, today I'm green again and have made a significant jump.

🎉A portfolio value of €1,000,000🎉

Briefly in advance:

My start in the world of finance began with a securities account that I inherited at the age of 20 due to sad circumstances. I never really got to grips with investments and 2-3 years later, I had completely different worries and suffering and would have gladly swapped the portfolio for a loved one again.

Now a little about my "strategy"

I inherited a lot of "blue chip" stocks and gradually sold some of them and opted for other stocks.

In my opinion, the "price increase" team is clearly superior to the "dividend" team at Getquin. I have always tried to find a healthy mix, and I have to admit that dividend stocks help me to get more involved with investing.

In the ~7 years I have been active so far, I have also had to learn the hard way and gain experience. Here are a few brief insights for those who are interested:

$TTE (+0.61%) and $AI (-0.81%) were my first self-made purchases, whereby I gradually $AI (-0.81%) I gradually increased my holdings and fortunately was able to take a stock split with me.

My first speculative share $NEL (+2.64%) had a price gain of 300% in the meantime, but was sold at a loss after disappointing figures.

During a professional training program during Corona, I bought shares $GME (-0.33%) I bought shares and took part in the rollercoaster ride in which I was able to realize a profit of €1,500 from a €6,000 investment and a lot of sweating and excitement.

I bought 0.05 $BTC (+0.85%) and was able to successfully hold it for 2 years and go from 0 to 0 before the BTC price went through the roof. You have to manage that first.

After the scandal of $WDI I thought, well the figures may be falsified but the company will have a conscience value and I burned another €1,500 at a share price of €1.22.

In addition, I couldn't quite believe the sanctions against Russia and shortly before the announcement of the sanctions $GAZP I bought shares worth €1,600.

At the end of the millions, the purchase of $PLTR (-0.48%) where I can currently record a 450% price gain.

( Thank you Jan Böhmermann, your video about this "evil" company was the best advertisement )

I am now happy with my portfolio. In the long term, I am still waiting $WCH (+0.82%) for a reasonably positive exit.

Of $SAP (-0.89%) as I also work with it at work and don't see any competition in the medium term as far as customized solutions are concerned.

I would also like to increase the position of $ENR (-1.79%) and generally increase my weighting with the Worlds funds.

I have currently set up savings plans of around €900 (€700 Worlds, €150 S&P 500, €50 EM)

In addition, I have a securities account not tracked here where I have been participating in a share program for employees for 10 years with my annual bonus payment from my employer. I also regularly watch videos of "Finanzbär" on Youtube where I am occasionally tempted to make individual purchases (e.g. $HIMS (-0.1%) and $SHOP (-0.21%) )

I can highly recommend it!

Fortunately, I can expect 3 salary increases in the next 12 months due to collective agreements and a change of position in the company.

I would like to use this to top up my savings plans and am considering investing €100 a month in $BTC (+0.85%) or $MSTR (+0.37%)

and we'll see.

My next goal?

Continue in the same way but don't forget that you are alive NOW and treat yourself to something. And if things go well, enjoy life in a southern country in my early 40s and no longer have to work 😁

With this in mind :

Cheers 🥂 thanks to all of you

Analyst updates, 29.10. 👇🏼

⬆️⬆️⬆️

• JEFFERIES raises the price target for SAP $SAP (-0.89%) from EUR 230 to EUR 255. Buy.
• DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises the price target for DEUTSCHE TELEKOM $DTE (+0.35%) from EUR 33 to EUR 39. Buy.
• ODDO BHF raises the target price for ALLIANZ
  SE
  $ALV (-0.37%) from EUR 288 to EUR 324. Outperform.
• ODDO BHF raises the price target for DWS
  $DWS (-1.3%) from EUR 38 to EUR 39. Neutral.
• METZLER raises the price target for LUFTHANSA $LHA (-0.21%) from EUR 5.70 to EUR 6.40. Hold.
• METZLER raises the price target for NEMETSCHEK
  $NEM (-0.82%) from EUR 89 to EUR 91. Hold.
• METZLER raises the price target for FRIEDRICH
  VORWERK $VH2 (-1.5%) from EUR 29.20 to EUR 38. Buy.
• GOLDMAN raises the price target for SYMRISE $SY1 (+0.07%) from EUR 127 to EUR 131. Neutral.

⬇️⬇️⬇️

• BOFA lowers the price target for MUNICH
  RE
  $MUV2 (-4.19%) from EUR 550 to EUR 535. Buy.
• WARBURG RESEARCH lowers the price target for WACKER
  CHEMICALS $WCH (+0.82%) from EUR 136 to EUR 133. Buy.
• WARBURG RESEARCH downgrades STEICO
  $ST5 (-0.87%) from Buy to Hold and lowers target price from EUR 42 to EUR 29.
• METZLER lowers the price target for SALZGITTER $SZG (+0.63%) from EUR 17 to EUR 15.50. Hold.
• DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH lowers the price target for SGL
  CARBON $SGL (-0.71%) from EUR 10.80 to EUR 10.60. Buy.
• LBBW downgrades PHILIPS $PHIA (+0.34%) from Buy to Hold and lowers target price from EUR 30 to EUR 26.
• GOLDMAN downgrades ABB
  $ABBNY (+0%) from Buy to Neutral. Target price CHF 52.
• UBS lowers the price target for CARL ZEISS MEDITEC $AFX (+2.36%) from EUR 71 to EUR 65. Neutral.
• JPMORGAN lowers the price target for STMICRO
  $STMPA (+0.1%) from EUR 42 to EUR 35. Overweight.

A new chapter begins

Dear Getquin Community,

for more than 2 years now you know me as RealMichaelScott here on Getquin. Since I've been active here, both Getquin and myself have developed rapidly.

My journey on Getquin started in April 2022, initially using the platform mainly to track my own portfolio. Gradually, I started to write smaller posts and commentaries until I finally plucked up the courage to write more extensive analyses and posts. These not only helped me to improve my own investment style, but also to make more informed decisions about my portfolio. Your support and feedback have always inspired and motivated me.

I have exciting news to share with you today. It's time to start a new chapter. I no longer want to write under the pseudonym RealMichaelScott but under my real name.

Why?

There is no one reason for this decision. In April 2022 I was looking for a pseudonym to register here. The fact that RealMichaelScott came out was probably more of a coincidence than a well thought-out decision. On the one hand, I've always enjoyed the references to Michael Scott from the series The Office here - on the other hand, I would rather not identify myself with a character from a series in the future. I would rather post under my real name and not hide behind a (more or less well thought-out) pseudonym - especially when it comes to writing serious posts.

Who am I?

Long story short: my real name is Nico Uhlig. I received my first shares back in 2006 as part of an employee share program when Wacker Chemie AG went public. $WCH (+0.82%) IPO. A few years later, after leaving the company, I sold them at a profit and I was done with shares for the time being. I then went on to study mathematics, which I successfully completed in 2016. During this time, I didn't own any shares and hardly ever thought about investing. It wasn't until I started my career after graduating that I began to look more closely at investing. In 2017, I bought my first truly "own" shares - it was Coca Cola $KO (-0.12%) and Apple $AAPL (-0.57%) . Since then, I have become more and more involved in investing and company analysis. Over the years, I've been able to learn a lot and find and refine my own investment style. I mainly invest in individual stocks and in particular in quality companies that can ideally also claim high dividend growth.

What is changing now?

First of all, not much except that you can now see my real name here on Getquin. I will keep the handle @RealMichaelScott handle for the time being.

Stay tuned,

Yours Nico Uhlig

$WCH (+0.82%) dividend is expected to amount to EUR 3 (2.7%).

$WCH (+0.82%)

Is there already a possible dividend for Wacker Chemie to be proposed in 2024? Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything in the figures 😞

After €12 in the previous year, I can't imagine anything other than a cut...