BICO Group AB has bought back convertible bonds + Intel in talks about the sale of Altera + Jefferies raises STMicro to 'Buy' with target up to 34 euros + AI and robotics hopes at Meta remain in focus + Exasol with preliminary consolidated figures for 2024

BICO Group AB $BICO (+7,27 %)has repurchased convertible bonds worth SEK 276 million

• On March 19, 2021, BICO Group AB (publ) ("BICO" or the "Company") issued senior unsecured convertible bonds with an aggregate principal amount of SEK 1,500,000,000 (the "Convertible Bonds").
• On February 18, 2025, the Company repurchased Convertible Bonds with an aggregate principal amount of SEK 276,000,000 at a purchase price of 89.4719 percent (excluding accrued but unpaid interest) of the principal amount of the Convertible Bonds.
• The total purchase price for the repurchased convertible bonds thus amounted to SEK 246,942,500 (the "Repurchase").
• After the Repurchase and together with the Convertible Bonds repurchased by BICO on November 22, 2024 (as notified separately), the aggregate principal amount of Convertible Bonds repurchased by BICO amounts to SEK 394,000,000, leaving SEK 1,106,000,000 of Convertible Bonds outstanding.
• The reason for the repurchase was to optimize BICO's capital structure and was made possible by the company's strong liquidity position.
• BICO will continue to monitor the bond market and may repurchase additional convertible bonds in the market from time to time, depending on the company's liquidity needs.
• The repurchase was executed under a safe harbor approach with Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ) as Dealer Manager.

Intel $INTC (-2,63 %)in discussions regarding the sale of Altera

• Silver Lake is in talks to acquire a majority stake in Intel's Altera division.
• The chipmaker hired advisors last year to find private equity investors willing to build a significant stake in Altera.
• Intel acquired Altera in 2015 for around 17 billion US dollars.
• Intel believes that a share sale could increase the value of Altera and create the conditions for a complete exit.
• Altera has attracted interest from rival chipmakers, but Silver Lake, a US private equity firm, has emerged as Intel's preferred option, according to three people familiar with the matter.

(Financial Times)

Jefferies raises STMicro $STMPA (+6,09 %)to 'Buy' - target up to 34 euros

• The analyst firm Jefferies has upgraded STMicroelectronics from "Hold" to "Buy" and raised its price target from 23 to 34 euros.
• The night is always darkest before the dawn, said analyst Janardan Menon above his buy recommendation on Wednesday.
• He no longer anticipates consensus corrections at the chip group, but expects growth to pick up from the second half of the year.
• The demand cycle for chips for industry and the automotive sector is picking up and deserves a revaluation

AI and robot hopes at Meta $META (-1,77 %)remain in focus

• The prospect of bright business around AI technology has been driving the shares since mid-January - since then they have risen by around 20 percent.
• With AI, Meta has recently provided additional momentum for its important advertising business.
• However, AI is to be used much more widely.
• With a share price of just under 737 US dollars as at Friday's close, Meta now has a market capitalization of almost 1.9 trillion dollars.
• At the end of January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reaffirmed his ambitions in the artificial intelligence (AI) business when publishing his financial figures.
• He expects an "intelligent and personalized AI assistant to reach more than one billion people this year", he said.
• And this is likely to be the company's own Meta AI software.
• The provider of social networks and communication platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp plans to invest "hundreds of billions of dollars" in the expansion of its AI infrastructure over time, Zuckerberg said at the time.
• For this year alone, the company had announced investments of more than 60 billion dollars, primarily for data centers.
• Meta emphasizes that AI is driving the business forward, including through software that advertisers can use to create ads.
• The important business with advertisements that are personalized for individual users is booming. Revenue and profit increased significantly in 2024.
• The increased personalization of AI services is positive because it creates even stronger customer loyalty on the part of users and advertisers.
• The high inflow of funds in the advertising business also enables Meta to continue to bear losses in the billions in the digital worlds business, which is important to Zuckerberg.
• The Reality Labs division, which is primarily known for VR goggles, posted an operating loss of billions in the last quarter.
• In the long term, however, the high investments in the business should pay off.
• As the news agency Bloomberg reported at the end of last week, citing people familiar with the matter, Meta is creating a business unit in the Reality Labs division that will develop AI-driven humanoid robots that can assist people with physical activities.
• According to the report, Metatree is planning to develop its own humanoid robot hardware - initially with a focus on household tasks.
• The bigger goal, however, is to develop the underlying AI, sensors and software for robots.
• These are then to be manufactured and sold by a number of companies. Meta is already talking to robotics companies such as Unitree Robotics and Figure AI about its plans.
• With a price target of 765 dollars, the analysts at Bank of America see only limited upside potential.
• Expert Brent Thill from the investment firm Jefferies sees a little more room up to his target of 810 dollars.

Exasol $EXL (-1,43 %)with preliminary Group figures for 2024

• Positive EBITDA, net income and cash flow for the first time since IPO
• Profit zone sustainably reached: EBITDA rises to EUR 2.0 million and is at the upper end of the forecast (EUR 1.5 to 2.0 million); positive consolidated net income of EUR 0.3 million
• Cash and cash equivalents increase by EUR 1.7 million to EUR 15.0 million and are well above expectations (forecast: EUR 11 to 13 million)
• Annual recurring revenue (ARR) increased by 3.7% to EUR 42.3 million, thus within the forecast range
• Strong growth in strategic focus industries (+19%) confirms focus on on-premise and hybrid solutions
• Forecast for 2025: EBITDA growth of at least 50% to EUR 3 to 4 million and mid-single-digit percentage revenue growth
• Sustained strong growth in the double-digit percentage range in focus sectors

Wednesday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

Economic data

08:00 DE: Manufacturing orders on hand and order backlog December

08:00 UK: Consumer prices January

08:00 UK: Producer prices January

10:00 EU: ECB, Eurozone Current Account December

10:00 CH: WTO, General Council Meeting (since 18.02.)

14:30 US: Housing Starts/Permits January

19:00 DE: CDU leader Merz, CDU election campaign event, Vechta

20:00 US: Fed, minutes of the FOMC meeting on January 28/29

FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Technology stocks had a hard time on Monday in view of the weakness of the Nasdaq before the weekend. The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology sector index extended its correction particularly sharply, with semiconductor stocks in particular coming under pressure.

STMicro $STMPA (+6,09 %)

lost around three percent following a downgrade by the experts at TD Cowen and is back at its November low. Infineon

look better overall, but also lost 2% at the end of the Dax. Aixtron $AIXA (+2,39 %) sank over 7% in the MDax.

Analyst Tim Wunderlich from Hauck Aufhäuser Investment Banking had canceled his buy recommendation for Aixtron. His price target of 13.80 euros is still below the current Xetra level. Sluggish consumer demand, political risks with regard to the development of electromobility and high inventories in the supply chains are likely to continue to weigh on demand for silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors in 2025, he wrote./ag/mis

Source: dpa-Afx

Although I don't think this news is new. And should slowly be priced into the share price. What do you think, will there be a further downhill slide?

BÖRSE ONLINE – Seit 1987 unterstützt BÖRSE ONLINE jede Woche Anleger bei ihren Investment-Entscheidungen. Zentrale Themen der Berichterstattung sind fundamentale Markt- und Aktienanalysen, Charttechnik, Handelsstrategien sowie verschiedene Tradingmodelle.

Analyst updates, 17.12.

⬆️⬆️⬆️

• - UBS raises the price target for AMAZON from USD 230 to USD 264. Buy. $AMZN (+0,77 %)
• - CITIGROUP raises the target price for ALLIANZ SE from EUR 286 to EUR 314.40. Neutral. $ALV (-0,9 %)
• - BARCLAYS raises the target price for DHL GROUP from EUR 37.50 to EUR 38. Equal-Weight. $DHL (+0,1 %)
• - DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH upgrades AIRBUS from Hold to Buy and raises target price from EUR 155 to EUR 185. $AIR (-2,45 %)
• - BERENBERG raises the price target for MUNICH RE from EUR 525 to EUR 552. Hold. $MUV2 (+0,89 %)
• - KEPLER CHEUVREUX raises the price target for ADESSO from EUR 80 to EUR 100. Hold. $ADN1 (-1,87 %)
• - WARBURG RESEARCH raises the price target for FMC from EUR 31 to EUR 36. Sell. $FME (-0,83 %)
• - DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises the target price for AUTO1 from EUR 12 to EUR 20. Buy. $AG1 (-0,54 %)
• - DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises the price target for MTU from EUR 329 to EUR 337. Hold. $MTX (-5,98 %)
• - DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises the price target for HENSOLDT from EUR 37 to EUR 41. Buy. $HAG (+0,48 %)
• - DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises the target price for ROLLS-ROYCE from GBP 5.55 to GBP 6.30. Buy. $RR. (+2,57 %)
• - BOFA raises the target price for INFINEON from EUR 36 to EUR 40. Buy. $IFX (+2,39 %)
• - BOFA raises the price target for STMICRO from EUR 29 to EUR 30. Buy. $STMPA (+6,09 %)
• - BOFA raises the target price for NOKIA from EUR 4.07 to EUR 4.58. Neutral. $NOKIA (+1,05 %)

⬇️⬇️⬇️

• - JPMORGAN downgrades TRANSMEDICS from Overweight to Neutral and lowers target price from 116 USD to 75 USD. $TMDX (+4,47 %)
• - BOFA lowers the price target for SILTRONIC from EUR 59 to EUR 46. Underperform. $WAF (+0,78 %)
• - HSBC lowers the price target for CARL ZEISS MEDITEC from EUR 66 to EUR 54. Hold. $AFX (+1,25 %)
• - KEPLER CHEUVREUX lowers the price target for HEIDELBERGER DRUCK from EUR 1.25 to EUR 1. Hold. $HBGRY
• - KEPLER CHEUVREUX lowers the price target for EVONIK from EUR 25 to EUR 21. Buy. $EVK (+0,66 %)
• - KEPLER CHEUVREUX lowers the price target for NORDEX from EUR 17 to EUR 14. Buy. $NDX1 (+0,2 %)

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 (+1,46 %) 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 (+0,94 %) or Siltronic
$WAF (+0,78 %) 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, (+0,77 %)
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 (+1,23 %). 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 (+1,02 %) .

The photomasks - i.e. the enlarged "copies" of the structures - are produced by companies such as Toppan $7911 (+0,85 %) , Dai Nippon Printing
$7912 (+0 %) or Hoya $7741 (-1,9 %) manufactured. Systems for cleaning the photomasks or for applying the photoresist are produced, for example, by Suss Microtec
$SMHN (+2,83 %) 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 (+3,67 %), LAM Research
$LRCX (+0,85 %), Tokyo Electron (TEL)
$8035, (+3,37 %)
Suss Mictrotec, Entegris
$ENTG (-1,41 %) and Axcelis $ACLS (+2,6 %).

The material - for example, highly specialized chemicals - is of course also required for production. Companies such as Linde
$LIN (+0,99 %), Air Liquide
$AI (+2,41 %), Air Products
$APD (+2,74 %) and Nippon Sanso
$4091 (-0,11 %) 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 (+0,7 %) or Onto Innovation
$ONTO (-1,42 %).

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 (+0,39 %), Keysight Technologies
$KEYS (-1,4 %), 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 (+2,03 %).

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 (+1,46 %) or Apple $AAPL (+2,44 %) 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 (+3,55 %) 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 (+0,71 %) and Synopsys $SNPS (+2,05 %). But also the industrial giant Siemens
$SIE (-2,27 %) 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, (+2,22 %) 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, (-1,39 %) which was originally a spin-off from AMD and the Taiwanese company United Micro Electronics
$UMC. (+3,42 %)

The best-known fabless companies - i.e. companies without their own chip production - are Nvidia, Apple, AMD, ARM Holdings
$ARM, (+1,78 %)
Broadcom $AVGO (+3,91 %), MediaTek $2454 and Qualcomm $QCOM. (+1,48 %) In the meantime Alphabet $GOOGL, (+0,94 %)
Microsoft $MSFT, (+0,1 %)
Amazon $AMZN (+0,77 %) and Meta $META (-1,77 %) 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 (-2,63 %) 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, (-7,2 %)
SK Hynix
$000660,
STMicroelectronics
$STMPA, (+6,09 %)
NXP Semiconductors
$NXPI, (+0,51 %)
Infineon $IFX (+2,39 %) and Renesas $6723 (+7,24 %) 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

Analyst updates, 04.11.

⬆️⬆️⬆️

- BERENBERG raises the target price for SHELL from GBP 31 to GBP 31.50. Buy. | $SHEL (+1,46 %)

- BERENBERG raises the price target for MTU from EUR 270 to EUR 350. Buy. | $MTX (-5,98 %)

- BRYAN GARNIER raises the price target for HELLOFRESH from EUR 8.50 to EUR 10. Neutral. | $HFG (-4,21 %)

- DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises the price target for SCOUT24 from EUR 84 to EUR 92. Buy. | $G24 (+1,89 %)

- DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises the price target for SANTANDER from EUR 5.75 to EUR 5.80. Buy. | $SAN (+1,21 %)

- RBC raises the target price for NEXT PLC from GBP 105 to GBP 108. Sector Perform. | $NXT (-3,25 %)

- UBS raises the price target for CHEVRON from USD 192 to USD 194. Buy. | $CVX (-0,65 %)

⬇️⬇️⬇️

- UBS lowers the price target for BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY from USD 806.724 to USD 796.021. Buy. | $BRK.B (+0,15 %)

- CITIGROUP lowers the price target for STMICRO from EUR 36 to EUR 30. Buy. | $STMPA (+6,09 %)

- JPMORGAN lowers the price target for ASM INTERNATIONAL from EUR 806 to EUR 716. Overweight. | $ASM (+1,75 %)

- RBC downgrades CARL ZEISS MEDITEC from Outperform to Sector-Perform and lowers target price from EUR 85 to EUR 70. | $AFX (+1,25 %)

- WARBURG RESEARCH lowers the price target for KION from EUR 65 to EUR 58. Buy. | $KGX (+1,33 %)

- ODDO BHF downgrades JENOPTIK from Neutral to Outperform and lowers target price from EUR 32 to EUR 30. | $JEN (-2,18 %)

- ODDO BHF lowers the price target for AIXTRON from EUR 22 to EUR 21. Outperform. | $AIXA (+2,39 %)

- ODDO BHF lowers the price target for FIELMANN from EUR 45.70 to EUR 44.60. Neutral. | $FIE (+2,52 %)

- HAUCK AUFHÄUSER IB lowers the price target for KNORR-BREMSE from 65.50 EUR to 63.60 EUR. Sell. | $KBX (+0,39 %)

- GOLDMAN downgrades STANDARD CHARTERED to Neutral. Target price GBP 9.37. | $STAN (+3,9 %)

- GOLDMAN lowers the price target for GENERALI from EUR 31.50 to EUR 30.50. Buy. | $G (-3,73 %)

- GOLDMAN lowers the price target for PHILIPS from EUR 35 to EUR 32. Buy. | $PHIA (+1,4 %)

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 (-2,68 %) from EUR 33 to EUR 39. Buy.
• ODDO BHF raises the target price for ALLIANZ
  SE
  $ALV (-0,9 %) from EUR 288 to EUR 324. Outperform.
• ODDO BHF raises the price target for DWS
  $DWS (+0,39 %) from EUR 38 to EUR 39. Neutral.
• METZLER raises the price target for LUFTHANSA $LHA (-0,97 %) from EUR 5.70 to EUR 6.40. Hold.
• METZLER raises the price target for NEMETSCHEK
  $NEM (+0,58 %) from EUR 89 to EUR 91. Hold.
• METZLER raises the price target for FRIEDRICH
  VORWERK $VH2 (-1,29 %) from EUR 29.20 to EUR 38. Buy.
• GOLDMAN raises the price target for SYMRISE $SY1 (+1,47 %) from EUR 127 to EUR 131. Neutral.

⬇️⬇️⬇️

• BOFA lowers the price target for MUNICH
  RE
  $MUV2 (+0,89 %) from EUR 550 to EUR 535. Buy.
• WARBURG RESEARCH lowers the price target for WACKER
  CHEMICALS $WCH (+0,94 %) from EUR 136 to EUR 133. Buy.
• WARBURG RESEARCH downgrades STEICO
  $ST5 (+1,74 %) from Buy to Hold and lowers target price from EUR 42 to EUR 29.
• METZLER lowers the price target for SALZGITTER $SZG (-2,95 %) from EUR 17 to EUR 15.50. Hold.
• DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH lowers the price target for SGL
  CARBON $SGL (+4,19 %) from EUR 10.80 to EUR 10.60. Buy.
• LBBW downgrades PHILIPS $PHIA (+1,4 %) from Buy to Hold and lowers target price from EUR 30 to EUR 26.
• GOLDMAN downgrades ABB
  $ABBNY (-1,01 %) from Buy to Neutral. Target price CHF 52.
• UBS lowers the price target for CARL ZEISS MEDITEC $AFX (+1,25 %) from EUR 71 to EUR 65. Neutral.
• JPMORGAN lowers the price target for STMICRO
  $STMPA (+6,09 %) from EUR 42 to EUR 35. Overweight.

Semiconductor shares since their 52-week highs

-61% Intel $INTC (-2,63 %)

-54% Aixtron $AIXA (+2,39 %)

-45% STMicroelectronics $STMPA (+6,09 %)

-44% Micron Technology $MU (-2,34 %)

-37% Globalfoundries $GFS (-1,39 %)

-36% BE Semiconductor $OXVE

-33% Lam Research $LRCX

-29% AMD $AMD (+3,55 %)

-29% Qualcomm $QCOM (+1,48 %)

-28% ON Semiconductor $ON (-0,61 %)

-27% ASML $ASML (+1,23 %)

-26% Applied Materials $AMAT (+3,67 %)

-26% Elmos Semiconductor $ELG (-0,74 %)

-24% Microchip Techn. $MCHP (-2,22 %)

-23% ARM $ARM (+1,78 %)

-23% Synopsys $SNPS (+2,05 %)

-23% Infineon $IFX (+2,39 %)

-22% NXP Semiconductors $NXPI (+0,51 %)

-20% Cadence Design $CDNS (+0,71 %)

-17% Nvidia $NVDA (+1,46 %)

-17% VanEck Semicon. ETF $IE00BMC38736 (+0,31 %)

-17% Nordic Semi $NRS

-17% KLA Corporation $KLAC (+0,7 %)

-13% Marvell Technology $MRVL (-1,05 %)

-12% TSMC $2330

-11% Broadcom $AVGO (+3,91 %)

-7% Texas Instruments $TXN (-7,2 %)

-6% Monolithic Power Syst. $MPWR (+6,75 %)

>> Which stocks are you invested in and how are they performing? Which of these stocks do you have on your watchlist? #semiconductor
#halbleiter

04.09.2024

US antitrust watchdogs have questions for Nvidia + Sales figures from the semiconductor sector shock investors + Cost savings at VW not a selling point

The dominance in chips for artificial intelligence has made the chip company Nvidia $NVDA (+1,46 %) into the sights of American competition authorities. The US Department of Justice has requested information from Nvidia and other companies with legally binding requests, the financial service Bloomberg reported. The antitrust watchdogs are concerned, among other things, that Nvidia could make it more difficult for customers to switch to the competition, according to sources close to the matter. Nvidia has benefited from the AI boom more than almost any other company. The company's chips have established themselves as the leading hardware for training software with artificial intelligence in data centers. This has brought Nvidia explosive growth in turnover, profit and share price. In addition to the chips, the company also earns money from software. Rivals such as AMD and Intel have so far found it difficult to seriously compete with Nvidia in this business.

Disappointing sales figures from the semiconductor industry sent shockwaves through the sector on Tuesday. Shares in the chip company Nvidia, for example, were hit hard, plummeting by almost seven percent in New York, making them one of the weakest stocks in the Nasdaq 100. The technology-heavy index recently fell by more than two percent. Nvidia shares had already come under heavy pressure recently following a disappointing outlook. Since the beginning of the year, however, they are still up more than 120 percent. This is by far the strongest increase in value of all stocks listed in the Nasdaq 100. In New York, the following also fell ARM Holdings $ARM (+1,78 %) , Intel $INTC (-2,63 %) and KLA Corporation fell between six and seven percent on Tuesday. Among the biggest losers in the leading European index EuroStoxx 50 were ASML $ASML (+1,23 %) fell by 4.4 percent, and in Paris STMicro $STMPA (+6,09 %) fell by 4.6 percent. In Frankfurt Infineon $IFX (+2,39 %) lost 4.7 percent, which put them in last place in the leading Dax index.

Car shares were also weak. The VW share $VOW3 (+1,17 %) slipped by 1.2 percent. The tightening of austerity measures is not seen as a reason to buy. DZ Bank, for example, said that the market's profit estimates for 2024 and 2025 could fall. This is because costs for restructuring and personnel measures could have a negative impact, and the news also implies a weak development of the VW brand. Other car stocks such as Mercedes $MBG (+1,98 %) and BMW $BMW (+2,28 %) fell by up to 1.9 percent.

Wednesday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

ex-dividend of individual stocks

Aegon EUR 0.16

Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia

22:05 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Quarterly figures

Quarterly figures / company dates Europe

09:30 Volkswagen works meeting at the main plant in Wolfsburg

14:00 Volkswagen Works Council meeting | Logitech H

Economic data

• 09:45 IT: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI non-manufacturing August PROGNOSIS: 52.4 previous: 51.7
• 09:50 FR: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI non-manufacturing (2nd release) August PROGNOSE: 55.0 1st release: 55.0 PREV: 50.1 Total Purchasing Managers' Index (2nd release) PROGNOSE: 52.7 1st release: 52.7 PREV: 49.1
• 09:55 DE: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI non-manufacturing (2nd release) August PROGNOSE: 51.4 1st release: 51.4 previous: 52.5 Total Purchasing Managers' Index PROGNOSE: 48.5 1st release: 48.5 previous: 49.1
• 10:00 EU: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI non-manufacturing euro area (2nd release) August PROGNOSE: 53.3 1st release: 53.3 previous: 51.9 Purchasing Managers' Index total PROGNOSE: 51.2 1st release: 51.2 previous: 50.2
• 10:30 UK: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI non-manufacturing (2nd release) August 1st release: 53.3 previous: 52.5
• 11:00 EU: Producer Prices July Eurozone PROGNOSE: +0.3% yoy/-2.5% yoy previous: +0.5% yoy/-3.2% yoy
• 14:30 US: July trade balance PROGNOSE: -79.0 bn USD previous: -73.11 bn USD
• 15:45 US: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI Services (2nd release) August 1st release: 55.2 previous: 55.0
• 16:00 US: Industrial New Orders July PROGNOSE: +4.9% yoy previous: -3.3% yoy

Tesla supplier with double-digit growth builds two new factories.

$STMPA (+6,09 %)

https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/it-internet/e-autos-stmicroelectronics-baut-neues-werk-fuer-stromsparchips-auf-sizilien/100041607.html