5 Small Publicly Traded Semiconductor Companies

In this article, we discuss 5 small publicly traded semiconductor companies. To read the detailed analysis of the semiconductor market, go directly to 13 Small Publicly Traded Semiconductor Companies.

5. Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRAM)

Market capitalization as of March 3: $147.43 million
Number of hedge fund holders: 8

Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRAM) develops and manufactures magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) products. The products are used in a variety of applications, including industrial automation, automotive, and enterprise storage. Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRAM)’s leadership in this niche gives it an important edge, it has more than 600 patents and applications related to MRAM technology. In addition, its manufacturing capabilities, a broad product portfolio, and strategic partnerships and alliances are competitive strengths.

The company also stands out because of a strong financial position. Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRAM)’s revenue grew 8.77% year-on-year in FY2022. The strong fundamentals have seen MRAM stock rally 32.90% year-to-date. Analysts have a Moderate Buy rating on the stock, with one Buy, zero Hold, and zero Sell.

According to the Insider Monkey database, 8 hedge funds held stakes in Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRAM), with a combined value of $10.002 million as Q4 2022. AIGH Investment Partners is the most prominent shareholder of Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRAM), with 849,930 million shares worth $4.73 million.

4. Arteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIP)

Market capitalization as of March 3: $175.34 million
Number of hedge fund holders: 7

Arteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIP) is a semiconductor intellectual property (IP) company that designs, and licenses system-on-chip (SoC) interconnects for use in a wide range of electronic devices. Shares in AIP are mostly bearish both in the short- and long term. The market underperformance notwithstanding, the company has strong financials; in the full year 2022, Arteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIP)’s revenue grew 33.05% y-o-y. However, the operating expenses expanded more, leading to a negative growth of net profit, -17.12%. The underperformance of the share price has affected the price-to-earnings ratio, which came in at -5.12x in the full year 2022. Despite the unsatisfactory financials, the company’s management is satisfied that they finished 2022 strongly.

In other words, Arteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIP)’s financials will recover once it overcomes the loss of key business. It is already covering the loss with the recent acquisition of Semifore, expanding its IP deployment automation solutions, and accelerating SoC development by integrating Semifore’s hardware/software interface (HSI) technology. TD Cowen, on March 2, downgraded his price target on Arteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIP) from $12 to $10 while maintaining an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares. The analyst attributed the downgrade to a mixed 4Q report, with ongoing macroeconomic challenges and weakness in China offsetting the strength in the automotive sector.

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, 7 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $5.31 million in Arteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIP), up from 5 in the preceding quarter worth $7.50 million.

3. SkyWater Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYT)

Market capitalization as of March 3: $560.45 million
Number of hedge fund holders: 6

SkyWater Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYT) is a US-based semiconductor foundry specializing in developing and manufacturing custom integrated circuits (ICs) for a wide range of applications. Although facing downward pressure from the market since late 2021, SkyWater Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYT) stock has remained resilient. It has registered significant positive moves in recent months, up 12.69% in the past month, 11.89% in the past six months, and 71.16% year-to-date. The strong performance is primarily due to excellent financials; in the full year 2022, revenue grew 30.76% y-o-y, gross profit exploded 334.96%, and net profit gained 21.90%.

SkyWater Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYT)’s fundamentals are further boosted by its edge in customized manufacturing solutions, expertise in diverse industries, focus on innovation, and advanced technology offerings. Following SkyWater Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYT)’s Q4 earnings beat and positive Q1 outlook, Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill raised his price target on the shares from $20 to $25 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on February 14.

In the third quarter of 2022, 6 hedge funds had stakes worth $4.36 million in SkyWater Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYT). D E Shaw held 223,499 shares of SkyWater Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYT) shares, valued at $1.60 million, making it the most prominent stakeholder in the company.

2. ChipMOS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:IMOS)

Market capitalization as of March 3: $886.97 million
Number of hedge fund holders: 6

Like Himax Technologies, ChipMOS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:IMOS) is also Taiwanese but headquartered in Hsinchu. The company is an industry-leading provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test services. It operates on the ground in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan. ChipMOS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:IMOS)’s stock has been having a good time in the market, at least for the past six months. In this period, the stock price climbed 10.73% to $23.64; the year-to-date performance is also satisfactory, posting a 10.16% improvement. ChipMOS’ fundamentals are strong, with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio (TTM) of 5.73x – the PE ratio for the full year 2022 was 4.72x. The company also managed a three-year average PE ratio of 5.82x.

ChipMOS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:IMOS) ranks among the top 15 semiconductor companies in Taiwan and the top 100 in the world based on market capitalization. But the market cap may not be a good metric to value the company because it has a massive lead in its line of business. For example, ChipMOS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:IMOS)’s focus on testing and packaging semiconductors gives it an edge in the industry. Also, the company beats most competitors regarding financial performance. Specifically, it performed well in the face of geopolitical tensions between Taiwan and mainland China.

At the end of Q4 2022, 6 hedge funds owned a stake in ChipMOS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:IMOS), up from 5 in the preceding quarter. Verdad Advisers is the leading shareholder of ChipMOS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:IMOS), with a stake worth over $1.07 million.

1. Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTS)

Market capitalization as of March 3: $ 876.75 million
Number of hedge fund holders: 3

Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTS) designs, develops, and markets gallium nitride (GaN) power integrated circuits (ICs) used in power conversion and charging. The company operates in Asia, Europe, and North America, with the main offices in Torrance, California, United States. Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTS) stock is up 11.86% over the past month, up 20.61% over the past six months, and up 75.07% year-to-date. Navitas’ financials indicate the company is doing well, with a 6.82x price-to-earnings (PE) ratio for the full year 2022. The PE ratio for the trailing twelve months (TTM) is 10.299x.

Unlike other semiconductor companies, even the big ones like Intel and TSMC, Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTS) uses GaN technology to make ICs and power semiconductors. GaN technology is not only groundbreaking but also unique – the standard technology for making traditional chips uses silicon. Unlike silicon, gallium nitride-based semiconductors are more efficient, smaller in size, perform better, and enhance sustainability. As a result, Navitas has an edge in this niche, making it potentially a major player in the semiconductor industry in the future.

Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore reaffirmed a Buy rating on Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTS)’s shares on February 24, following the Q4 results, and raised the price target from $6 to $8. Seymore anticipated that investors could reap the benefits of a re-acceleration in the company’s business, driven by an expanding range of drivers.

As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, 3 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database held stakes in Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTS), a decrease compared to 6 funds in the preceding quarter.

Baron Funds, an investment management company, mentioned Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTS) in its third quarter 2022 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“During the quarter, we purchased additional shares of Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTS), a leader in gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors. We took advantage of what we believe to be a dislocation in the stock due to near-term weakness in mobile phone demand, especially in China. Navitas’ GaN products continue to see strong share gains driven by its monolithically integrated GaN power ICs (full power systems on a single chip), which provide greater reliability and performance compared to competitors who supply discrete (non-integrated) power devices. Navitas also remains on track with its higher-power products targeting data center, renewable energy, and automotive end-markets in the coming years. Additionally, the company recently acquired GeneSiC, a small and rapidly growing silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor designer, which is already shipping its SiC products into Navitas’ targeted higher-power endmarkets and can leverage Navitas’ existing global organization to accelerate growth. GaN and SiC are highly complementary products, and Navitas is now the only pure-play one-stop-shop for these energy efficient next generation power semiconductors. As GaN and SiC power devices continue to take market share from silicon-based products due to their improved efficiency, size, and power density, Navitas will disproportionately benefit as a technology leader, and we believe the current stock price does not reflect the tremendous growth opportunity over the coming decade.”

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