Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (KLIC)

dvols1 (60.85) Submitted: 11/25/2009 7:58:14 PM : Start Price: $4.64 KLIC Score: -2.00

chip stocks oversold and need equipment from KLIC

SemiChamp (< 20) Submitted: 8/24/2009 12:53:56 PM : Start Price: $5.40 KLIC Score: -21.64

This company is driven by chip units and factory utilization - both are headed up as industry emerges from recession. Classic early warning sign. Company has hired back 500 direct labor in last quarter to increase capacity to meet increasing demand.

johnnyb39 (67.89) Submitted: 5/2/2009 3:16:56 AM : Start Price: $3.87 KLIC Score: -6.68

Very impressed with performance and I expect it's trend to continue. Buy.

Lordrobot (90.02) Submitted: 7/14/2008 4:05:26 AM : Start Price: $6.41 KLIC Score: -18.72

K&S has several new innovations. 1) wire bonders now can be switched from gold to copper. 2) new machines are vastly more superior. 3) complex chips need wirebonder packaging. 4) Ramp up is very fast so this company will lead the four year semi cycle. 5) Company has 95% of the market and has channels for dicers. 6) Large Asian footprint. 7) oversold 8) grossly undervalued.

Everything in the marketplace is reacting to oil speculation and the press over financials. This is completely misplaced. The gov can't allow Fanny or Freddy to fail. Yet housing must lose the entire bubble value and return tot he eighty year line of roughly 1980s. Bubbles in real property are damaging to all businesses due to the wage price inflation. We are only backed down to the year 2005 in housing prices. So the markets have a lot more to go but the decline is orderly. In order to soften the blow, it will be necessary for the Feds to bail out the mortgages. I don't like the idea but it will nevertheless prevent a capitulation.

As for oil, the speculators in the commodities are in real danger of a collapse in the oil markets. Do not believe in demand or in peak oil. this is propaganda. To prove it we have had no shortages, we have decreased use of oil by 4% and we have produced more oil not less as peak oil believers would imply. The fed must clamp down on the speculators use of leverage and margin in a step wise fashion. If they don't, and oil folds then some big players including pension funds will be on the dire side of the trade and will cause huge damage to the economy.

Thus, when the fed finally acts to curtail the speculation and the Treasury and the Congress bails out the mortgage biz, the economy will be restored to sanity. Understand however that housing prices will fall dramatically but this will be good for manufacturing because it reduces the cost of labor. Companies with big Asian footprints will be immune from most of the crazy speculation in housing and commodities especially since KLIC has untethered itself from gold.

Expect to see KLIC start to rise at the end of August in earnest and soar to 24 by December.

shorty4407 (< 20) Submitted: 4/6/2008 10:36:35 PM : Start Price: $5.69 KLIC Score: -1.90

KLIC is a chip maker and chip stocks are having their best move for years. KLIC has a real nice chart and it should have some steam left!

Dan8558 (63.11) Submitted: 2/18/2008 9:10:43 AM : Start Price: $5.29 KLIC Score: +3.04

K&S should rebound when the chip industry recovers, but this one is definitely not a buy and forget company.

Gogogomarket (< 20) Submitted: 2/8/2008 2:04:15 AM : Start Price: $5.40 KLIC Score: -0.98

well managed, low pe

KenN513 (87.88) Submitted: 7/16/2007 1:45:48 PM : Start Price: $11.49 KLIC Score: -34.53

I wish i'd have known about this company when they were trading at $7. I think they'll continue to rise, but I look to add to my portfolio on a dip. . .

danrobbins (28.20) Submitted: 1/26/2007 7:57:34 PM : Start Price: $9.02 KLIC Score: -31.02

Chip equipment maker should make strong comback this year as technology outperforms the market. Looks for 30% upside in '07

NetscribeSemiCdr (29.33) Submitted: 1/22/2007 6:57:25 AM : Start Price: $8.40 KLIC Score: -26.77

Kulicke and Soffa (KLIC) incorporated in 1951, is the world's leading supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment, materials, and technology. KLIC provides wire bonders, capillaries, wire, die bonders, and die collets for all types of semiconductor packages using wire as the internal electrical interconnections.

The company has had a total shift in its strategy focusing on larger, more established product lines and divesting small non-profitable ventures. Its fortunes have improved over the years after several restructuring measures. In line with this it exited its wafer test business as it doesn’t fit into long term strategy and shifting certain manufacturing facilities to low cost regions like China where it enjoys 100% tax holidays for 2 years.

The acquisition of Alphasem that has an excellent reputation for customer satisfaction would expand the KLIC’s equipment market from $600 million to more than $1.2 billion. Moreover overlap of customers between Alphasem and KLCI is less with opportunities to cross-sell and increase market share. The recent quarter has not been satisfactory as hike in gold prices was passed on to the customers. The recent quarter has not been satisfactory and wire bonders account for 34% of the total revenue, whose performance is driven by gold prices. Hike in gold prices was passed on to the customers as a result the high sale revenues were not reflected in the bottom line, i.e. net profits.

Geographical mix of revenue looks good with 93% coming from non-U.S countries. But 29% of its revenues from Advanced Semiconductor Engineering and STMicroelectronics, prove to be a risk due to the huge debt component of $270 million. Loss of any one customer would strain the interest payments. Of late, the management is concentrating much on financial performance and is trying to strengthen its balance sheet. As a result it generated more cash, rationalized its cost structure, improved its collections, reduced account receivable balance and days sales outstanding. Good fundamentals and low price to earning ratio makes it a valuable buy.

ryan5261 (60.26) Submitted: 11/16/2006 6:53:59 PM : Start Price: $8.39 KLIC Score: -28.52

trade freedom.

RMan54 (47.08) Submitted: 10/24/2006 8:30:12 PM : Start Price: $9.15 KLIC Score: -35.19

Nothing better than investing in the guys that provide the equipment to make and test computer chips. With the MS Windows replacement PC operating system coming out and more money to spend on computers instead of on gasoline, chip manufacturers will use companies like KLIC in the next quarter to keep up with demand. Should be great in the next couple of months before and around the holidays.

dmdavie (< 20) Submitted: 9/23/2006 11:59:10 AM : Start Price: $8.78 KLIC Score: -36.12

Shrinking debt and what appears to be consistently improving profit margins; Wall Street doesn't seem to be interested at this point

jay4290210 (34.42) Submitted: 9/19/2006 8:54:33 PM : Start Price: $8.48 KLIC Score: -34.18

Hidden value in this one.