In a new research piece, Jefferies makes the case that the DRAM pricing looks to have stabilized and may be ready to move higher. After a 33% decline this year, and with numerous positive catalysts on the horizon, aggressive traders may be in a sweet spot to make some solid capital gains.
We screened the Jefferies picks for the four that look like they could have the largest upside potential.
Cavium
This stock has been a Jefferies favorite for some time and could be a great addition to portfolios. Cavium Inc. (NASDAQ: CAVM) generates a sizable part of its revenue from the association it has with Cisco Systems with security and multi-core embedded processors. The Jefferies team sees the company well-positioned with multi-core processor portfolio and design wins in enterprise and service provider markets.
The analysts note that Cavium sees its core business outside of wireless growing nicely for the remainder of the year and next year as well. They also point out that the company’s Data Center business is being driven by demand for LiquidIO 1 cards at its largest cloud data center customer. The Jefferies team also thinks it can draw business from other larger data center customers.
Jefferies raises its price target on the stock to $80. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target is $69.70. Shares closed most recently at $68.31.
ALSO READ: 3 Stocks to Buy That Got Hit Despite Great Earnings and Prospects
Inphi
This is another stock that has been on the Jefferies Buy list for some time. Inphi Corp. (NYSE: IPHI) provides high-speed analog and mixed signal semiconductor solutions for the communications, data center and computing markets worldwide. The company’s end-to-end data transport platform delivers high-signal integrity at leading-edge data speeds, addressing performance and bandwidth bottlenecks in networks, from fiber to memory. Inphi’s solutions minimize latency in computing environments and enable the roll-out of next-generation communications infrastructure.
The Jefferies team views the battle for dominance in outsourced cloud services between Amazon, Google, Microsoft and others continuing to drive growth in data center capital expenditures. The analysts feel that cloud data center customers are more likely to embrace Inphi’s exciting PAM-4 solutions initially and may very well engage directly with them.
The Jefferies price target jumps to $28, and the consensus target is $26.14. Shares closed on Friday at $22.99.
Lattice Semiconductor
This stock also has huge upside and has had a very difficult year. Lattice Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: LSCC) is the self-described global leader in smart connectivity solutions, providing market leading intellectual property and low-power, small form-factor devices that enable more than 8,000 global customers to quickly deliver innovative and differentiated cost and power efficient products. The company’s broad end-market exposure extends from consumer electronics to industrial equipment, communications infrastructure and licensing.
ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch Updates Top Transforming World Stock Picks for 2015
The company posted a loss in the second quarter and got hit hard, dropping almost 35%. The company bought Silicon Image back in March and costs associated may have dragged the quarter down. The company just released a new line of port controllers that deliver space, cost and power efficient designs to support the latest USB Type-C interfaces, enabling designers to quickly develop next-generation products.
The Jefferies price target is a gigantic $8, and the consensus target is even higher at $8.17. The stock closed Friday at $4.08. Trading to the targets would be more than a 90% gain.
SanDisk
This stock has been mauled this year, down over 50%, and could have huge upside for patient investors. SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is a global leader in flash storage solutions. The company is a top supplier of quality, state-of-the-art products that are at the heart of many of the world’s largest data centers and embedded in advanced smartphones, tablets and PCs.
In its most recent quarterly report, SanDisk reported earnings per share and revenue that beat the Wall Street estimates. The beat came on the back of lowered expectations, though.
While the road may remain tough for the company, as it is believed it lost business from Apple for the iPhone 6s, the Jefferies team is positive that newer products could drive down costs for customers in a big way and could help spark a turnaround.
The Jefferies price target is posted at $70, and the consensus target is $66.07. The stock ended last week at $52.84.
ALSO READ: 7 Energy Stocks Analysts Want You to Buy Now
Chip stocks have been a very uncrowded trade this year, and technology investors looking for upside may want to consider some of these top stocks to Buy at Jefferies.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks