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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights NVIDIA, Photronics, ASML Holding and Micron Technology

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – January 12, 2024 – 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 include: NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) , Photronics, Inc. (PLAB - Free Report) , ASML Holding N.V. (ASML - Free Report) and Micron Technology, Inc. (MU - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

4 Solid Semiconductor Stocks to Buy for a Promising 2024

The semiconductor market is staging a solid rebound after a not-so-impressive first half of 2023. Semiconductor sales rose a solid 5.3% year over year in November 2023, the first time since August 2022, as demand rebounded on easing inflation, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on Jan 9.

Sales totaled $48 billion in November compared to $45.6 billion a year ago. Also, sales jumped a solid 2.9% month over month in November from October's total of $46.6 billion.

The year-over-year jump in sales in November was driven primarily by robust demand from China, where sales were up 7.6%. Besides, sales rose 7.1% in Asia Pacific and 5.6% in Europe, while it witnessed a 3.5% rise in the Americas.

The semiconductor market, which reached unprecedented heights during the peak of the pandemic, suffered from a supply-chain crisis in 2021, which saw sales slowing at a fast pace. Although demand was high in 2022 and the supply-chain crisis eased, rising prices and inflationary pressures started taking a toll on sales.

The Federal Reserve's monetary tightening campaign that saw rates being hiked by 525 basis points further slowed sales.

However, semiconductor demand was always high from multiple industries, which saw the industry making a steady rebound from the second quarter of 2023 and sales have since been on the rise.

Demand for semiconductors is expected to rise through 2024, which bodes well for the industry. The semiconductor market is expected to experience positive outcomes due to the global integration and extensive utilization of consumer electronics.

Moreover, the growing influence and broad implementation of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and machine learning are foreseen to be significant factors in sustaining the ongoing demand for semiconductors.

According to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), global semiconductor sales are projected to jump 13.1% in 2024. WSTS estimates global sales to reach $588.4 billion.

Our Choices

Given the promising future, it would be wise to invest in semiconductor stocks. Below are four chip stocks that investors can gain from in the near term.

NVIDIA Corp. is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit (GPU). Over the years, NVDA's focus has evolved from PC graphics to AI-based solutions that now support high-performance computing, gaming and virtual reality platforms. NVIDIA's GPU success can be attributed to its parallel processing capabilities supported by thousands of computing cores necessary to run deep-learning algorithms.

NVIDIA's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 268.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 13.7% over the past 60 days. NVDA presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Photronics, Inc. is a leading worldwide manufacturer of photomasks. Photomasks are high-precision quartz plates that contain microscopic images of electronic circuits. PLAB produces photomasks in accordance with product designs provided by customers at strategically located manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Photronics' expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 27.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 15.6% over the past 60 days. PLAB currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

ASML Holding N.V. is a world leader in the manufacture of advanced technology systems for the semiconductor industry. ASML offers an integrated portfolio for manufacturing complex integrated circuits. ASML Holding designs, develops, integrates, markets and services advanced systems used by customers of the major global semiconductor manufacturers to create chips that power a wide array of electronic, communications and information technology products.

ASML Holding's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 39%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.3% over the past 60 days. ASML currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Micron Technology, Inc. has established itself as one of the leading worldwide providers of semiconductor memory solutions. Through global brands, namely Micron, Crucial and Ballistix, MU manufactures and markets high-performance memory and storage technologies including Dynamic Random Access Memory, NAND flash memory, NOR Flash, 3D XPoint memory and other technologies. Micron Technology's solutions are used in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking and mobile products.

Micron Technology's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 90.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 74.6% over the past 60 days. MU holds a Zacks Rank #2.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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