Semiconductor stocks just hit an all-time high, and some market watchers see new bigger gains in the cards from both a technical and fundamental perspective.
The large semiconductor-tracking exchange-traded fund, the SMH, reached an all-time intraday high Wednesday as names like Advanced Micro Devices and Intel rose. The SMH has now logged a 12 percent advance in 2018, and a 42 percent gain in the last year.
Intel is a stock within the SMH that looks particularly well-positioned, said Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak.
“You think of this as a big, bulky company that isn’t one of those sexy stocks that it was in the 1990s, but it has a lot of potential on a technical basis,” he said.
Maley noted that when the market fell broadly in early February, Intel shares managed to hold their January lows, and just rose above the $50 level, which has proved recent resistance.
“We need to see a more meaningful breakout to really confirm that the thing really is going to take off, but this stock is one that has underperformed for a while, and it could play catch-up really quickly, and actually outperform over the coming months if it can indeed see a little bit more of a rally,” he said.
The semiconductor group, which has the potential to see consolidation as Broadcom and Qualcomm weigh a deal, looks attractive from a fundamental perspective, said Gina Sanchez, CEO of Chantico Global.
“I do think there’s a strong fundamental story for the semiconductor sector as a whole,” she said Tuesday on “Trading Nation,” citing forecast growing demand for semiconductors from multiple industries like autos, wireless services and cryptocurrency mining.
The SMH was trading modestly higher Wednesday.
