Top Semiconductor Companies To Invest In 2014

LONDON -- I'm always searching for shares that can help ordinary investors like you make money from the stock market.

Right now I am trawling through the FTSE 100�and giving my verdict on every member of the blue-chip index.

I hope to pinpoint the very best buying opportunities in today's uncertain market, as well as highlight those shares I feel you should hold... and those I feel you should sell!

I'm assessing every share on five different measures. Here's what I'm looking for in each company:

1. Financial strength:�Low levels of debt and other liabilities;

2. Profitability:�Consistent earnings and high profit margins;

3. Management:�Competent executives creating shareholder value;

4. Long-term prospects:�A solid competitive position and respectable growth prospects.

5. Valuation:�An underrated share price.

A look at ARM
Today I'm evaluating�ARM Holdings� (LSE: ARM  ) (NASDAQ: ARMH  ) , the world's leading semiconductor intellectual property supplier,�which currently trades at 1,066 pence. Here are my thoughts:

Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Xilinx Inc (XLNX)

Xilinx, Inc. (Xilinx), incorporated on February 5, 1984, designs, develops and markets programmable platforms. These programmable platforms have a number of components, including integrated circuits (ICs) in the form of programmable logic devices (PLDs), including Extensible Processing Platforms (EPPs); software design tools to program the PLDs; targeted reference designs; printed circuit boards, and intellectual property (IP), which consists of Xilinx and various third-party verification and IP cores. In addition to its programmable platforms, Xilinx provides design services, customer training, field engineering and technical support. The Company�� PLDs include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs) that its customers program to perform logic functions, and EPPs. Xilinx�� products are offered to electronic equipment manufacturers in end markets, such as wired and wireless communications, industrial, scientific and medical, aerospace and defense, audio, video and broadcast, consumer, automotive and data processing. The Company sells its products globally through independent domestic and foreign distributors and through direct sales to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by a network of independent sales representative firms and by a direct sales management organization. In January 2011, the Company acquired AutoESL Design Technologies, Inc. In August 2012, the Company acquired embedded Linux solutions provider PetaLogix.

Product Families

The 7 series devices that comprise the Company�� 28-nanometer (nm) product families are fabricated on a high-K metal gate 28-nm process technology. These devices are based on an architecture, which enables design and IP portability and re-use across all families, as well as provides designers the ability to achieve the appropriate combination of I/O support, performance, feature quantities, packaging and power consumption to address a range of applications. The 7 series devices consist of! three families: Virtex-7 FPGA, Kintex-7 FPGAs and Artix-7 FPGAs. The Zynq-7000 family is the family of Xilinx EPPs. The Virtex-6 FPGA family consists of 13 devices and is the sixth generation in the Virtex series of FPGAs.

Virtex-6 FPGAs are fabricated on a high-performance, 40-nm process technology. There are three Virtex-6 families: Virtex-6 LXT FPGAs, Virtex-6 SXT FPGAs and Virtex-6 HXT FPGAs. The Spartan-6 family is the PLD industry�� 45-nm high-volume FPGA family, consisting of 11 devices in two product families: Spartan-6 LX FPGAs and Spartan-6 LXT FPGAs. The Virtex-5 FPGA family consists of 26 devices in five product families: Virtex-5 LX FPGAs for logic-intensive designs, Virtex-5 LXT FPGAs for high-performance logic with serial connectivity, Virtex-5 SXT FPGAs for high-performance DSP with serial connectivity, Virtex-5 FXT FPGAs for embedded processing with serial connectivity and Virtex-5 TXT FPGAs for high-bandwidth serial connectivity. Prior generation Virtex families include Virtex-4, Virtex-II Pro, Virtex-II, Virtex-E and the original Virtex family. Spartan family FPGAs include 90-nm Spartan-3 FPGAs, the Spartan-3E family and the Spartan-3A family. Prior generation Spartan families include Spartan-IIE, Spartan-II, Spartan XL and the original Spartan family.

Design Platforms and Services

The Company offers three types of programmable platforms. The Base Platform is the delivery vehicle for all of its new silicon offerings used to develop and run customer-specific software applications and hardware designs. The Base Platform consists of FPGA silicon; Integrated Software Environment (ISE) Design Suite design environment; integration support of optional third-party synthesis, simulation, and signal integrity tools; reference designs; development boards and IP. The Domain-Specific Platform targets one of the three primary Xilinx FPGA user profiles: the embedded processing developer; the DSP developer; or the logic/connectivity developer. The Market-S! pecific P! latform enables software or hardware developers to build and run their specific application or solution. Built for specific markets, such as automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications, audio, video and broadcast, industrial, or scientific and medical, the Market-Specific Platform integrates both the Base and Domain-Specific Platforms.

During April 2012, Xilinx introduced the Vivado Design Suite. Vivado supports Xilinx 7 series FPGAs and Zynq EPPs. Xilinx and various third parties offer hundreds of no charge and fee-bearing IP core licenses covering Ethernet, memory controllers Interlaken and PCIe interface, as well as domain-specific IP in the areas of embedded, DSP and connectivity, and market-specific IP cores. The Company also offers development kits, including hardware, design tools, IP and reference designs. Xilinx offers a range of configuration products, including one-time programmable and in-system programmable storage devices to configure Xilinx FPGAs. These programmable read-only memory (PROM) products support all of the Company�� FPGA devices. Xilinx and certain third parties have developed and offer a ecosystem of IP, boards, tools, services and support through the Xilinx alliance program. Xilinx also works with these third parties to promote its programmable platforms through third-party tools, IP, software, boards and design services. Xilinx engineering services provide customers with engineering, ranging from hands-on training to full design creation and implementation.

The Company competes with Altera Corporation, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation and Microsemi Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $600.61 million.

  Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.94 per share on revenue of $1.07 billion.

• [By Beth Piskora]

  They are listed below:

  Altera (ALTR)��ielding 1.7%
  
  Apple (AAPL)��ielding 2.5%
  
  Applied Materials (AMAT)��ielding 2.6%
  
  Cisco (CSCO)��ielding 2.9%
  
  EMC Corp. (EMC)��ielding 1.5%
  
  International Business Machines (IBM)��ielding 2.0%
  
  KLA-Tencor (KLAC)��ielding 3.2%
  
  Microchip Technology (MCHP)��ielding 3.6%
  
  Oracle (ORCL)��ielding 1.5%
  
  Qualcomm (QCOM)��ielding 2.1%
  
  Texas Instruments (TXN)��ielding 2.9%
  
  Xilinx (XLNX)��ielding 2.3%
  
  

  Subscribe to S&P's The Outlook here��/P>

Top Semiconductor Companies To Invest In 2014: CSR PLC (CSRE)

CSR plc is an United Kingdom-based holding company. The Company is a provider of multifunction connectivity, audio, and location platforms. The Company is engaged in designing and supplying of integrated circuits (silicon chips) and multifunction platforms for a range of devices and applications that are used in a range of consumer electronics products. It operates in three segments: Automotive, Voice and Music and Consumer. Automotive segment includes automotive infotainment and portable navigation devices. Voice and Music segment representing all its audio products. Consumer segment includes gaming, home entertainment, personal computers (PCs), tablets, document imaging, health and fitness, and cameras. The Company�� subsidiaries include Cambridge Silicon Radio Holdings Limited and NordNav Technologies Aktiebolag. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By reports.droy]

  CSR (CSRE), which recently rejected a $2.5 billion takeover offer from Microchip Technology (MCHP), has just been bagged by Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) for $2.5 billion.

Top Semiconductor Companies To Invest In 2014: Solitron Devices Inc (SODI)

Solitron Devices, Inc., incorporated on March 12, 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor components and related devices primarily for the military and aerospace markets. The Company manufactures a variety of bipolar and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) power transistors, power and controls hybrids, junction and power MOS field effect transistors (Power MOSFETS), field effect transistors and other related products. It's products are custom made pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products are sold to the United States government. The Company�� semiconductor products can be classified as active electronic components. The Company�� active electronic components include bipolar transistors and MOS transistors.

The Company�� semiconductor products are used as components of military, commercial, and aerospace electronic equipment, such as ground and airborne radar systems, power distribution systems, missiles, missile control systems, and spacecraft. Its products have been used on the space shuttle and on the spacecraft sent to the moon, to Jupiter (on Galileo) and, to Mars (on Global Surveyor and Mars Sojourner).

Power Transistors

The Company manufactures a variety of power bipolar transistors for applications requiring currents in the range of 0.1 ampere to 300 ampere or voltages in the range of 30 volts to 1000 volts. It also manufactures power diodes under the same military specification. In addition, it manufactures power N-Channel and P-Channel MOSFET transistors and is expanding that line in accordance with customers��requirements.

Hybrids

The Company manufactures thick film hybrids, which generally contain discrete semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, chip capacitors and thick film or thin film resistors. The hybrids are of the high-power type and are custom manufactured for military and aerospace systems. Some of the Company�� hybrids include high power voltage regulators, p! ower amplifiers, power drivers, boosters and controllers. The Company manufactures both standard and custom hybrids.

Voltage Regulators

Voltage regulators provide the power required to activate electronic components such as the integrated circuits. These circuits are found in all electronic devices from radar and missile systems to smart phones.

Field Effect Transistors

The Company manufactures about 30 different types of junction and MOS field effect transistor chips. They are used to produce over 350 different field effect transistor types. The Company�� field effect transistors conform to standard Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council designated transistors, commonly referred to as standard 2N number types. It manufactures both standard and custom field effect transistors.

The Competes with IXYS Corporation, Motorola Inc., International Rectifier, Microsemi Corporation, M.S. Kennedy Corporation, Natel Engineering Company and Sensitron Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] strong>OPT-Sciences (OPST)

  Micropac

  Micropac is 76% owned by Heinz-Werner Hempel. He�� a German businessman. You can see the German company he founded here. He�� had control of Micropac for a long-time. I don�� have an exact number in front of me. But I would guess it�� been something like 25 years.

  ADDvantage

  ADDvantage Technologies is controlled by the Chymiak brothers. See the company�� April 4 press release explaining their decision to turn over the CEO position to an outsider. Regardless, the Chymiaks still control 47% of the company. Ken Chymiak is now chairman. And David Chymiak is still a director and now the company�� chief technology officer. Clearly, it�� still their company.

  By the way, the name ADDvantage Technologies has nothing to do with the Chymiaks. Today�� AEY really traces its roots to a private company called Tulsat. The Chymiak brothers acquired that company about 27 years ago. So, effectively, when you buy shares of AEY you are buying into a 27-year-old family-controlled company.

  That�� pretty typical in the world of net-nets.

  Solitron

  Solitron Devices is 29% owned by Shevach Saraf. He has been the CEO for 20 years. The post-bankruptcy Solitron has never known another CEO. Before the bankruptcy, Solitron was a much bigger, much different company. So even though we are not talking about the founder here ��and even though 70% of the company�� shares are not held by the CEO ��we��e still talking about a company where one person has a lot of control. Solitron only has three directors. Saraf is the chairman, CEO, president, CFO and treasurer. Neither of the other two directors joined the board within the last 15 years. So, we aren�� talking about a lot of tumult at the top.

  In fact, profitable net-nets seem to be especially common candidates for abandoning the responsibilities of a public company without actually getting taken private.

  OPT-Sciences

  This

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Solitron (SODI) sells at 74% of NCAV, has decent z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 5.3% and an ROA of 12%.
  
  Micropac (MPAD) sells at 83% of NCAV, has similar (slightly better) z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 6%, but has ROA of 28%.
  
  ADDvantage (AEY) sells at 95% of NCAV, has similar (in the ballpark) scores and FCF and ROA of 23%.

• [By Geoff Gannon] on the amount of stock you can buy and the position size you like. For me, I try not to start buying a stock that I think will never make up 10% of my portfolio. If you don�� mind having 5% positions in your portfolio, your portfolio can obviously be twice as big as mine and you can still consider buying the same small stocks I do. In terms of specific stocks, it depends on the amount of float and the volume the stock trades in an average month. We are really getting into specifics here. And I may be boring people. But if you�� like to hear more about the minutiae of how you actually buy and sell tiny stocks like these, let me know, and I��l do an article on the subject.

  By the way, there is a hard and fast rule of thumb that it usually makes no sense to invest in a company with a market cap that is smaller than your portfolio. This is true for both fund and individual investors. Funds break it all the time. But, frankly, it is probably a waste of an analyst/fund manager�� time to even analyze such tiny positions relative to the size of the whole portfolio. Since even when we are discussing very small stocks we are still talking about millions and millions of dollars in market cap, this is hardly a concern for most individuals.

  So, for individual investors, actual inability to acquire enough shares of a company to meaningful influence their portfolio is rarely the problem. If you bid for a stock month after month ��you��l get your shares.

  The concern for individual investors is not whether buying enough shares is possible. The concern is how quickly and easily you can buy and sell. This is what we call ��iquidity.��/p>

  Instead of thinking about stocks as liquid or illiquid, you should think in terms of your portfolio and your liquidity needs. It doesn't make much sense to use what I'll call an "objective" (as in stock-oriented) approach to liquidity rather than a "subjective" (as in investor-oriented) approach to liquidity.

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Top Semiconductor Companies To Invest In 2014: Rood Testhouse International NV (ROO)

Rood Testhouse International NV (RoodMicrotec) is a Netherlands-based company, operating an independent and certified test house and analysis lab for opto- and microelectronics. It is a supply chain management organization engaged in partial processes essential to reliable end-products. Its core services are managing the entire process from design idea all the way to supply to the end-user, including purchasing, logistics, warehousing/logistics; securing testability and manufacturability at an early stage in the chip design process. Its activities include supply chain amangement, test and end-of-line services, failure and technology analysis, test engineering, qualifications and reliability, as well as engineering/consulting/key account project management. It has six wholly owned subsidiaries: RoodMicrotec International B.V., RoodMicrotec Holding GmbH, RoodMicrotec Beteiligungs GmbH, RoodMicrotec Nordlingen GmbH + Co. KG, RoodMicrotec Dresden GmbH and RoodMicrotec Stuttgart GmbH. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alan Ellman]

  The day is Friday July 12, and the stock is LEAP Wireless International Inc. (LEAP), which is a takeover candidate by AT&T. In the late afternoon, the share price was near $8 per share, the July $9 call option was priced @ $0.10, and the August $9 call @ $0.40. Covered call writers could generate an initial profit (ROO) of 1% and 5%, respectively. The average daily option trading volume for this company is 1320 contracts over the last three months. It appeared to be a normal trading day until the last hour of trading when option volume went through the roof. By day’s end, 7139 contracts were traded, all but 350 were calls as traders were taking a bullish stance on this stock. I think you know what’s coming!

Top Semiconductor Companies To Invest In 2014: Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASX)

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. is principally engaged in the manufacture, assembly, processing, testing and distribution of integrated circuits (ICs). The Company provides semiconductor packaging and testing services, including plastic leaded chip carriers (PLCCs), quad flat packages (QFPs) and flip chip packaging technology, among others, which are applied in the manufacture of household electrical appliances, communication devices, automobile components, personal computers, set top boxes, servers, memory integrated circuits (ICs), mobile phones, digital cameras, game consoles, projectors, high definition (HD) televisions, wireless communication network products and power management ICs, among others. The Company operates its businesses primarily in Taiwan, Europe and the Americas. In August 2010, the Company acquired a 100% interest in EEMS Test Singapore.

The Company is focused on packaging and testing logic semiconductors. The Company offers its customers turnkey services, which consist of packaging, testing and direct shipment of semiconductors to end users designated by its customers. The Company�� global base of over 200 customers includes semiconductor companies across a range of end use applications, including Altera Corporation, ATI Technologies, Inc., Broadcom Corporation, Cambridge Silicon Radio Limited and Microsoft Corporation. During the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company�� packaging revenues accounted for 77.7% of its net revenues and its testing revenues accounted for 20.1% of its net revenues.

Packaging Services

The Company offers a range of package types to meet the requirements of its customers, with a focus on packaging solutions. Within its portfolio of package types, the Company focuses on the packaging of semiconductors. These include advanced leadframe-based package types, such as quad flat package, thin quad flat package, bump chip carrier and quad flat no-lead package, and package types based on substrates, such a! s flip-chip ball grid array (BGA) and other BGA types, as well as other packages, such as wafer-bumping products. Leadframe-based packages are packaged by connecting the die, using wire bonders, to the leadframe with gold wire. The Company�� leadframe-based packages include quad flat package (QFP)/ thin quad flat package (TQFP), quad flat no-lead package (QFN)/microchip carrier (MCC), advanced quad flat no-lead package (AQFN), bump chip carrier (BCC), small outline plastic package (SOP)/thin small outline plastic package (TSOP), small outline plastic j-bend package (SOJ), plastic leaded chip carrier (PLCC) and plastic dual in-line package (PDIP). Substrate-based packages employ the BGA design, which utilizes a substrate rather than a leadframe. It also assembles system-in-a-package products, which involve the integration of more than one chip into the same package. The Company�� substrate-based packages include Plastic BGA, Cavity Down BGA, Stacked-Die BGA, Flip-Chip BGA and land grid array (LGA).

The Company�� wafer-level packaging products include wafer level chip scale package (aCSP) and advanced wafer level package (aWLP). The Company offers module assembly services, which combine one or more packaged semiconductors with other components in an integrated module to enable functionality, typically using surface mount technology (SMT) machines and other machinery and equipment for system-level assembly. End use applications for modules include cellular phones, personal digital assistant (PDAs), wireless local area network (LAN) applications, bluetooth applications, camera modules, automotive applications and toys.

The Company provides module assembly services primarily at its facilities in Korea for radio frequency and power amplifier modules used in wireless communications and automotive applications. Interconnect materials connect the input/output on the semiconductor dies to the printed circuit board. Interconnect materials include substrate, which is a multi-layer m! iniature ! printed circuit board. The Company produces substrates for use in its packaging operations.

Testing Services

The Company provides a range of semiconductor testing services, including front-end engineering testing, wafer probing, final testing of logic/mixed-signal/radio frequency (RF) and memory semiconductors and other test-related services. The Company provides front-end engineering testing services, including customized software development, electrical design validation, and reliability and failure analysis. The Company provides final testing services for a variety of memory products, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), single-bit erasable programmable read-only memory semiconductors and flash memory semiconductors.

The Company provides a range of additional test-related services, including burn-in testing, module sip testing, dry pack, tape and reel, and electric interface board and mechanical test tool design. The Company offers drop shipment services for shipment of semiconductors directly to end users designated by its customers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  The FTSE 100 Index (UKX) fell 1.31 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 6,679.77 at 10:12 a.m. in London, trimming an earlier decline of as much as 0.6 percent. The gauge has climbed 13 percent this year as central banks maintained stimulus measures to support the global economy. The broader FTSE All-Share Index (ASX) was also little changed today, while Ireland�� ISEQ Index retreated 0.3 percent.

Top Semiconductor Companies To Invest In 2014: Advantest Corp (ATE)

Advantest Corporation, incorporated in December 1954, is a part of Advantest group. The Company operates in three segments: semiconductor and component test system segment; mechatronics system segment, focusing on peripheral devices including test handlers and device interfaces, and services, support and others segment. The semiconductor and component test system segment provides customers with test system products for the semiconductor industry and the electronic component industry. The mechatronics system segment focuses on peripheral devices to the semiconductor and component test systems. The services, support and others segment consists of comprehensive customer solutions provided in connection with the semiconductor and component test system and mechatronics system segments, support services and an equipment lease business.

Semiconductor and Component Test Systems Segment

Semiconductor and component test systems are used during the semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing process to confirm that a semiconductor functions properly. Semiconductor and component test systems consist of test systems for memory semiconductors and test systems for non memory semiconductors. Advantest�� test systems for memory semiconductors are test systems designed to test high-speed/high performance dynamic random access memory (DRAM) semiconductors used in equipment such as personal computers and servers, as well as flash memory semiconductors used in digital consumer products.

Test systems for memory semiconductors consist of a mainframe and one or more test heads. During testing, a device interface is attached to the test head. During the front-end testing process, wafers are loaded by a prober and are connected to the test system for memory semiconductors through the device interface. Electric signals between the die and the test systems for memory semiconductors are transmitted through probe pins located in the device interface and tested. After front-end te! sting is completed, the wafer is diced into separate dies and properly functioning dies are packaged. During back-end testing, test handlers are used to load these packaged devices onto the test heads, and electric signals are transmitted between the devices and the test heads via the device interface and tested. The test results are analyzed by the test systems for memory semiconductors��hardware circuits and software programs. Customized software programs for each semiconductor are required to analyze the semiconductor tests and test data.

Advantest�� main product lines of test systems for memory semiconductors are the T5500 series, the T5300 series and the T5700 series. The T5593 is a test system targeted at the market for high speed memory semiconductors, such as DDR2- Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM) and Synchronous Graphics Random Access Memory (SGRAM). The T5383 is a multi-functional test system for memory semiconductors that reduces testing costs for semiconductor manufacturers. Advantest�� main line of test systems for non memory semiconductors relates to test systems for SoC semiconductors, test systems for liquid crystal display (LCD) driver integrated circuits and test systems for semiconductors used in car electronics. The T6577 test systems for SoC semiconductors in the T6500 series were primarily developed to test micro controller unit (MCU) and SoC semiconductors that control digital consumer products at the production lines. The T6300 series are test systems for LCD driver integrated circuits used with high-definition LCD displays. The T7721, T7722 and T7723 are test systems for non memory semiconductors for mixed signal integrated circuits. The T8571A is a test system for non memory semiconductors that is primarily used to evaluate and analyze CCDs which are image sensors.

Mechatronics System Segment

The Main products in the Mechatronics System Segment are test handlers which handle semiconductor devices and automate the te! sting, an! d device interfaces which are the interfaces with devices being tested. Test handlers are used with semiconductor and component test systems to handle, condition temperature, contact and sort semiconductors and other electronic components during the back-end testing of the semiconductor manufacturing process. Advantest�� test handlers are sold primarily in conjunction with the sale of its semiconductor and component test systems. The M6242 test handler for test systems for memory semiconductors, including DDR-3SDRAM, can handle up to 512 semiconductors at a time. Advantest�� test handlers for non memory semiconductors, including SoC semiconductors, are the M4841, the M4741A and the M4742A, among others.

Advantest develops and manufactures device interfaces for semiconductor and component test systems and supplies device interfaces, such as high performance and high density connectors, socket boards and sockets. For test systems for memory semiconductors, Advantest provides motherboards capable of handling a maximum of 512 semiconductors at a time. For test systems for non memory semiconductors, Advantest provides motherboards that are compatible with a maximum of 3,072 signals. Advantest also provides motherboards designed for use in front-end testing. Advantest provides custom manufacturing of socket boards and performance boards for each device under test in accordance with customers��specifications.

Advantest provides sockets for test systems for memory semiconductors. Advantest provides low-inductance (0.4nH) sockets and fine pitch (0.4mm) sockets for semiconductors that are becoming more high-speed and more compact in size. Advantest provides carrying and contacting mechanism components compatible with each device under test for test handlers for memory semiconductors and test handlers for non memory semiconductors.

Services, Support and Others Segment

In the services, support and others segment, Advantest has focused on maintenance serv! ices, suc! h as installation and repair of Advantest�� products. It also focused on lease and rental services of its products as a part of Advantest�� effort to provide customers with comprehensive solutions.

The Company competes with Teradyne, Inc., Verigy Ltd., LTX-Credence Corporation, Yokogawa Electronic Corporation, FROM30 CO., LTD., EXICON Ltd., UniTest Inc., Delta Design, Inc., Seiko Epson Corporation, Mirae Corporation, TechWing, Inc., TSE Co., Ltd. and Secron Co., Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Nissan's done better this year than electronics maker Advantest (NYSE: ATE  ) , but this stock absolutely blew up over the past week. Advantest's shares shot higher by more than 9%, wiping out pessimism over the company's weak earnings released a few weeks ago. Advantest's net loss and operating profit both fell below its guidance, and despite this week's investor optimism, the future's murky for this company. Financial site TheStreet downgraded the stock last week, citing Advantest's falling earnings, among other issues.