Report
Dave Nicoski ...
  • Ross LaDuke
EUR 234.15 For Business Accounts Only

Vermilion Compass: Weekly Equity Strategy

Upgrading equal-weight Energy

Of the ten items highlighted in last week's Compass that we would like to see in order to turn more bullish, two have happened -- equal-weighted Energy and UK/European Financials are breaking out. Just as important, the other eight items have not deteriorated significantly. This only serves to add to our already positive outlook as equities are poised to test all-time highs.

• Upgrading equal-weight Energy to market weight. Energy equities are waking up and beginning to respond to higher crude oil prices. We are upgrading equal-weight Energy to market weight as several popular ETFs are making bullish price and RS inflections -- add selective exposure. The cap-weighted Sector (XLE) is bottoming in terms of price, however RS is still making lower highs -- favor the equal-weighted Sector (RYE). We highlight the several ETFs (RYE, XOP, IEO, XLE) and five actionable names: WPX, HES, DVN, NBL, and PTEN... see chart below and pages 2-4.

• UK/European Financials. In addition to Energy breaking out, UK/European Financials (EUFN) are another important risk-on area of the market that is bottoming and breaking topside resistance... see page 5.

• High yield spreads hit 5-month lows. High yield spreads over Treasuries are hitting 5-month lows and are not flashing any warning signs for broad equities... see page 6.

• Bonds. The 10-year Treasury yield is approaching logical resistance... see page 6.

• Growth vs. value. Remain overweight growth with this ratio's uptrend intact... see page 6.
In today's report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within Technology: Large-, Mid-, and Small-Cap Semiconductors (TE-01, -02, and -03, respectively)... see pages 12-25.
Underlyings
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Advanced Micro Devices is a semiconductor company. The company primarily provides x86 microprocessors, as standalone devices or as incorporated into an accelerated processing unit, chipsets, graphics processing units (GPUs), data center and personnel GPUs, and development services; server and embedded processors, semi-custom System-on-Chip products, development services and technology for game consoles. The company also licenses portions of its intellectual property portfolio. The company's segments are: Computing and Graphics, which consists of desktop, notebooks, commercial, and chipsets products; and Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom, which includes server processors, and embedded P\processors products.

Ambarella Inc.

Analog Devices Inc.

Analog Devices is an analog technology company. The company designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of solutions, including integrated circuits, algorithms, software, and subsystems. The company's analog products include data converter that translate real-world analog signals into digital data and also translate digital data into analog signals, amplifiers that condition analog signals, and power management and reference products that include functions such as power conversion, driver monitoring, sequencing and energy management. The company's digital signal processing products are designed to execute software programs, or algorithms, associated with processing digitized real-time, real-world data.

Broadcom Inc.

Broadcom, via its subsidiaries, is a designer, developer and supplier of a range of semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions. The company develops semiconductor devices with a focus on digital and mixed signal complementary metal oxide semiconductor based devices and analog III-V based products. The company provides products that are used in end products such as enterprise and data center networking, home connectivity, set-top boxes, broadband access, telecommunication equipment, smartphones and base stations, data center servers and storage systems, and factory automation. The company has three segments: semiconductor solutions, infrastructure software and intellectual property licensing.

Cirrus Logic Inc.

Cirrus Logic focuses on low-power integrated circuits (ICs) for audio, voice and other signal-processing applications. The company's product lines include: Portable Products, including codecs, which are chips that integrate analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs) into a single IC, smart codecs, which are codecs with digital signal processing integrated, amplifiers, micro-electromechanical systems microphones, haptic drivers, standalone digital signal processors, and its SoundClear? technology, which includes a portfolio of tools, software and algorithms; and Non-Portable and Other Products, which include ICs, codecs, ADCs, DACs, digital interfaces and amplifiers.

Cree Inc.

Cree is a provider of bandgap semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications and lighting-class light emitting diode (LED) products. The company's products are used for applications such as transportation, power supplies, inverters, wireless systems, indoor and outdoor lighting, electronic signs and signals and video displays. The company operates in two segments: Wolfspeed, which consists of silicon carbide and gallium nitride (GaN) materials, power devices and RF devices based on silicon and bandgap semiconductor materials; and LED Products, which consists of LED chips and LED components. The company's LED chip products include blue and green LED chips based on GaN and related materials.

Devon Energy Corporation

Devon Energy is an independent energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company's operations are concentrated in various onshore areas in United States. The company's areas of operation include Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford, Powder River Basin and the STACK development, located primarily in Oklahoma's Canadian, Kingfisher and Blaine counties.

Hess Corporation

Hess is a global exploration and production company engaged in exploration, development, production, transportation, purchase and sale of crude oil, natural gas liquid (NGL), and natural gas with production operations located primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, Malaysia and Denmark. The company's Midstream operating segment provides fee-based services, including gathering, compressing and processing natural gas and fractionating NGL; gathering, terminaling, loading and transporting crude oil and NGL; storing and terminaling propane, and water handling services primarily in the Bakken shale play in the Williston Basin area of North Dakota.

Infineon Technologies AG

Inphi Corporation

Inphi is a provider of analog and mixed signal semiconductor solutions for the communications and datacenter markets. The company's analog and mixed signal semiconductor solutions provide an interface between analog and mixed signals and digital information in systems such as telecommunications transport systems, enterprise networking equipment and datacenters. The company has a range of products in its portfolio, including products that have commercially shipped, products for which the company has shipped engineering samples and products under development, that perform a range of functions such as amplifying, encoding, multiplexing, demultiplexing, and retiming signals at speeds up to 400 Gbps.

Intel Corporation

Intel is a data-centric company. The company's operating segments are: Data Center Group, which develops platforms for compute, storage, and network functions; Internet of Things Group, which facilitates its customers creating, storing, and processing data; Mobileye, which provides assistance and automation solutions; Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group, which provides memory and storage products based on Intel? Optane? technology and Intel? 3D NAND technology; Programmable Solutions Group, which provides programmable semiconductors; and Client Computing Group, which connects people to data, allowing each person to focus, create, and engage in ways that unlock their individual potential.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd.

Marvell Technology Group is a semiconductor provider of application-specific products. The company is focused on the development of System-on-a-Chip devices, utilizing its technology portfolio of intellectual property in the areas of analog, mixed-signal, digital signal processing, and embedded and standalone integrated circuits. The company develops integrated hardware platforms along with software that incorporates digital computing technologies. In storage, the company is engaged in fibre channel products and data storage controller solutions spanning cloud, enterprise, edge and personal computing markets. The company's networking products include ethernet solutions, embedded processors and WiFi connectivity solutions.

Maxim Integrated Products Inc.

Maxim Integrated Products designs, develops, manufactures and markets a range of linear and mixed-signal integrated circuits, referred to as analog circuits. The company's linear and mixed signal products serve the Automotive, Communications and Data Center, Computing, Consumer, and Industrial end-markets. The company primarily utilizes third party foundries as well as its own wafer fabrication facilities for the production of its wafers. The company markets its products worldwide through a direct-sales and applications organization and through its own and other unaffiliated distribution channels.

MaxLinear inc

MaxLinear is a provider of radio frequency, analog, and mixed-signal communications systems-on-chip solutions for the connected home, wired and wireless infrastructure, and industrial and multi-market applications. The company's products are integrated into a range of electronic devices, including cable, terrestrial, and satellite video set-top boxes and gateways, cable DOCSIS data and voice gateways, hybrid analog and digital televisions, direct broadcast satellite outdoor units, optical modules for data center, metro, and long-haul transport network applications, RF transceivers and modem solutions, wireline connectivity devices, and power management and interface products.

Microchip Technology Incorporated

Microchip Technology develops, manufactures and sells semiconductor products. The company's product portfolio comprises general purpose and other eight-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit microcontrollers, 32-bit microprocessors, field-programmable gate array products, a range of linear, mixed-signal, power management, thermal management, discrete diodes, Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors, radio frequency, timing, timing systems, safety, security, wired connectivity and wireless connectivity devices, serial Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, Serial Flash memories, Parallel Flash memories, Serial Electrically Erasable Random Access Memory and serial Static Random Access Memory.

Monolithic Power Systems Inc.

Monolithic Power Systems is a fabless semiconductor company. The company designs, develops and markets power solutions for systems found in consumer, computing and storage, automotive, industrial, communications and consumer applications. The company's primary product families include the following: Direct Current (DC) to DC products, which are used to convert and control voltages within a range of electronic systems such as portable electronic devices, wireless Local Area Network access points, computers, and monitors, automobiles and medical equipment; and Lighting Control Products, which include lighting control integrated circuits that are used in backlighting and general illumination products.

Noble Energy Inc.

Noble Energy is an independent energy company, engaged in crude oil and natural gas exploration and production. The company's operating areas include: U.S. onshore, primarily the DJ Basin, Delaware Basin and Eagle Ford Shale; U.S. offshore Gulf of Mexico; Eastern Mediterranean; and West Africa. The company's Midstream segment develops, owns, operates and acquires domestic midstream infrastructure assets, or invests in other midstream entities, with existing focus areas being the DJ and Delaware Basins. The company's activities include geophysical and geological evaluation; analysis of commercial, regulatory and political risks; and exploratory and development drilling leading to production, where appropriate.

NXP Semiconductors NV

NXP Semiconductors is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, Co. is engaged as a global semiconductor company and a long-standing supplier in the industry. Co. provides High-Performance Mixed-Signal and Standard Product solutions. Co.'s product solutions are used in automotive, identification, wireless infrastructure, lighting, industrial, mobile, consumer and computing applications. Co. engages with original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and sell products in all major geographic regions.

Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.

Patterson-UTI Energy is an oilfield services company that primarily owns and operates fleets of land-based drilling rigs and a fleet of pressure pumping equipment. The company's business segments are: contract drilling services, which markets its contract drilling services to independent and other oil and natural gas operators; pressure pumping services, which provides pressure pumping services to oil and natural gas operators, primarily in Texas, the Mid-Continent region and the Appalachian region; and directional drilling services, which provides a suite of directional drilling services, including directional drilling and downhole performance motors in various onshore oil and natural gas basins.

Power Integrations Inc.

Power Integrations designs, develops and markets analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits and other electronic components and circuitry used in high-voltage power conversion. The company's products are used in power converters that convert electricity from a high-voltage source to the type of power required for a specified downstream use. In most cases, this conversion entails, among other functions, converting alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) or vice versa, reducing or increasing the voltage, and regulating the output voltage and/or current according to the customer's specifications. The company's products are AC-DC power conversion, High-voltage gate drivers, and Motor-driver products.

Qorvo Inc.

Qorvo is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company designs, develops, manufactures and markets its products to U.S. and international original equipment manufacturers and original design manufacturers in two operating segments: Mobile Products, which is a supplier of cellular radio frequency (RF) and Wi-Fi solutions for mobile devices, including smartphones, wearables, laptops, tablets and cellular-based applications for the Internet of Things (IoT); and Infrastructure and Defense Products, which is a supplier of RF and system-on-a-chip solutions for cellular base stations and other wireless communications infrastructure, defense, smart home, automotive and other IoT applications.

Rambus Inc.

Rambus is a semiconducor company that creates hardware, software and services. The company has three operational units: Memory and Interfaces, which focuses the design, development, manufacturing through partnerships and licensing of technology and solutions that is related to memory and interfaces; Rambus Security, which focuses on the design, development, deployment and licensing of technologies for chip, system and in-field application security, anti-counterfeiting, smart ticketing and mobile payments; and Emerging Solutions, which includes the Rambus Labs team and the development efforts in the area of emerging technologies.

Silicon Laboratories Inc.

Silicon Laboratories is a provider of silicon, software and solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), Internet infrastructure, industrial automation, consumer and automotive markets. The company provides analog-intensive, mixed-signal solutions for use in a variety of electronic products in a range of applications for the IoT including connected home and security, industrial automation and control, smart metering, smart lighting, commercial building automation, consumer electronics, asset tracking and medical instrumentation. The company provides a range of timing and isolation products for infrastructure applications including clocks and oscillators for networking equipment, and data centers.

Skyworks Solutions Inc.

Skyworks Solutions is a provider of analog semiconductors that connect people, places, and things, spanning a number of applications within the aerospace, automotive, broadband, cellular infrastructure, connected home, industrial, medical, military, smartphone, tablet and wearable markets. The company's product portfolio consists of various solutions, including: amplifiers, antenna tuners, attenuators, circulators/isolators, wireless analog system on chip, direct current (DC)/DC converters, demodulators, detectors, diodes, directional couplers, diversity receive modules, filters, front-end modules, hybrid, light emitting diode drivers, low noise amplifiers, mixers, and modulators.

STMicroelectronics N.V. ADS

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Sponsored ADR

Texas Instruments Incorporated

Texas Instruments designs and makes semiconductors that it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers. The company has two reportable segments: Analog and Embedded Processing. The company's analog semiconductors change signals, such as sound, temperature, pressure or images to a stream of digital data. The company's analog segment primary product lines includes: power, signal chain, and high volume. The company's embedded processors are designed to handle specific tasks and can be optimized for various combinations of performance, power and cost, depending on the application. The company's embedded processing segment primary product lines includes: connected microcontrollers and processors.

WPX Energy Inc.

WPX Energy is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company engaged in the exploitation and development of long-life unconventional properties. The company is focused on exploiting, developing and growing its oil positions in the Delaware Basin (a subset of the Permian Basin) in Texas and New Mexico and the Williston Basin in North Dakota.

Provider
Vermilion Research
Vermilion Research

Vermilion Research delivers timely, actionable, and unique research inputs to professional investors. Our research strategists highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various proprietary technical indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. We believe our research methodology, which is not limited by industry sector or market capitalization, enables us to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing all actively traded stocks into coherent sectors, then into logical industry groups. We then apply our proprietary relative strength tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sectors or groups, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. Vermilion offers U.S. and global equity market research products. Vermilion’s research team, which has received numerous awards and accolades, has a combined 70 year of experience in the analysis of investment securities.

Analysts
Dave Nicoski

Ross LaDuke

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