Even in a rough tape for semiconductors as a group, ON Semiconductor's (NASDAQ:ON) performance has been noticeably worse. The shares basically tracked the PHLX Semiconductor Index for
most of the past year, but weak results in the third quarter led to a
deeper plunge that has the shares down more than a third over the last
year, and the brief rally in the wake of the bid for Fairchild (NASDAQ:FCS) proved fleeting.
I'm of two minds on ON Semiconductor at this point. The
shares look cheap by the metrics I use, but this is starting to remind
me more than a little bit of Atmel (NASDAQ:ATML) - a company with good technology and potential, but where management has never really been able to deliver
on any sort of consistent basis. While I see Fairchild as potentially a
very positive acquisition, ON management's abject failure with the
Sanyo deal cannot, and should not, be forgotten.
I know a lot of readers want those of us who write for
Seeking Alpha to give them clear "buy/sell" calls, but I really can't do
that with ON Semiconductor. I believe the company should and can produce better results than it has, but that does not mean that it will.
Investors aren't being asked to pay a lot to find out if they can do
better, but if I were to buy, I'd at least go in aware of the risk that
this is a serial underperformer that could disappoint for a while.
Read more here:
ON Semiconductor Still Floundering
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