10 Small Publicly Traded Semiconductor Companies To Buy

6. Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:ICHR)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q1 2024: 19

Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:ICHR) is a specialized semiconductor equipment company that enables chip manufacturers to manage and control gasses during the manufacturing process. Like other chip equipment manufacturers, Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:ICHR) is also entering the second half of 2024 amidst a slowdown in global wafer equipment. This slowdown was driven by a weak economy as well as inflation leading to slower smartphone and PC sales, and it is unsurprising that Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:ICHR)’s shares are up by a mere 2% over the past 12 months. This indicates that the semiconductor stock boom fueled by AI has not materialized upstream into the supply chain. However, a recovery in the memory market, which also slumped last year, can help Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:ICHR)’s stock and another catalyst could be the US CHIPS and Science Act since Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:ICHR) is an American company.

Another key metric to watch for Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:ICHR) is the capital expenditure trends in the industry which are updated every quarter. Its management is anticipating a demand recovery, as it shared during the latest earnings call:

We will remain optimistic for an improvement in the second half revenue volumes as the demand profile begins to build in advance of a stronger 2025 spending environment. That being said, our visibility remains limited to approximately 3 months given the return to normalized lead times in the supply chain. And with our current visibility, we are not yet seeing a meaningful uptick in demand for new systems serving the NAND market. The recovery in this market remains in the very early stages and recent reports indicate that the improvement year-to-date is chiefly focused on technology upgrades. Given the strong etch and deposition intensity characteristic of the NAND market, we look forward to a more meaningful improvement in NAND demand, driving a strong growth year for us in 2025.