5 Tech Stocks to Buy Now According to Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners

4. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $219,797,000
Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 4.52%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) manufactures and sells integrated circuits and semiconductor wafer devices. As of Q4 2021, Intermede Investment Partners boosted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) by 6%, holding 1.83 million shares worth approximately $219.80 million.

Hans Engel of Erste Group lowered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) from Buy to Hold on April 14. While Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) benefited from its strong market position, Engel warned investors that sales and profit forecasts for 2022 declined due to a global economic slowdown.

In Q4 2021, fund managers added to their Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) holdings. There were 72 hedge funds in our database that held stakes in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 67 funds in the third quarter.

Wedgewood Partners, an investment management firm, in its first-quarter 2022 investor letter, mentioned Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM). Here is what the fund said:

“Taiwan Semiconductor pulled back on geopolitical concerns and periodic market fears about the end of the “cycle” in semiconductors. First, we think the Company might be one of the most – if not the most – important Companies in the world. Taiwan Semiconductor has a near-monopoly on semiconductor processing at advanced nodes, which makes it irreplaceable to customers such as Apple, AMD, NVIDIA, Mediatek, Amazon, and even Intel. Second, much less important manufacturers have more direct geopolitical risk than Taiwan Semiconductor, yet they trade at substantial premiums – both multiple and market cap. For example, Tesla is a heavy manufacturer of only about 1 million automobiles with significant production capacity located in the heart of China, yet it trades at double the market cap of Taiwan Semiconductor. Third, while it is hard to know when the current semiconductor “cycle” will slow or end, we see very few signs of it, as Taiwan Semiconductor continues to generate bookings well in excess of its current capacity – unlike any previous cycle. Taiwan Semiconductor traded to levels that are much too pessimistic given its competitive positioning and opportunity for growth driven by a more robust semiconductor cycle, driven by high-performance computing. As such, we added to our position during the quarter.”