The semiconductor industry has been delivering record-breaking numbers in the past two years. It had a solid 2024 where global chip sales increased 19% to $627 billion and this year is already shaping up to smash expectations. Projections point to $697 billion in revenue and the industry is on track to the $1 trillion target by 2030.
The CHIPS and Science Act remains active under the Trump administration, so it has been continuing to help those in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The manufacturing boom here is now starting to spill over into smaller semiconductor players as bigger companies have trouble scaling up to the demand.
If you sort semiconductor stocks by YTD gains, you’ll mostly find up-and-coming plays. These smaller companies could be the next big winners in the AI race, so it’s worth looking into them.
A semiconductor production line, showing the complex procedures of chip manufacture.
Methodology
For this article, I screened the top-performing semiconductor stocks year-to-date. Stocks that I have covered recently will be excluded from this list.
I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds invest in? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
15. inTest Corp (NYSEAMERICAN:INTT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 7
inTest Corp (NYSEAMERICAN:INTT) is a precision-engineered test and process company in the semiconductor industry.
The stock is up relatively well so far in 2025 due to it getting price target hikes and some strategic distribution expansions. Northland upgraded it from Hold to Strong Buy and raised its price target to $16 back in January.
In addition, it has seen a recovery in orders and diversification into the EV and life sciences markets. The company signed General Bussan as an exclusive distributor in Japan for semiconductor test solutions and partnered with Prodigy Processing Solutions to distribute ultra-low temperature chillers for cannabis/hemp extraction.
Analysts project 5.34% revenue growth in 2025 after 5% in 2024.
The consensus price target of $16 implies 77% upside.
INTT stock is up 5.85% year-to-date.
14. Indie Semiconductor (NASDAQ:INDI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 12
Indie Semiconductor (NASDAQ:INDI) is a fabless semiconductor company that specializes in automotive technology.
It has risen quite a lot so far in 2025 as it reported a $7.1 billion strategic backlog. It also forecasts over 40% revenue growth in 2025 and targets $300 million in sales and a path to breakeven. This backlog is due to contracted design wins that include a marquee radar-related program set to ramp production this year.
INDI also launched an ASIL-D-certified safety chip. It is the highest automotive safety standard for vehicle powertrains. Q4 2024 earnings are close (February 20), so investor optimism is also driving it higher.
The consensus price target of $8.29 implies 93.37% upside.
INDI stock is up 6.05% year-to-date.
