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Semiconductors are the silicon backbone of the digital revolution. Demand for chips is variable though, meaning that corporate inventory levels and sentiment can significantly impact the industry. Uncertainty surrounding these factors has hurt semiconductor stocks over the past six months as they have pulled back by 7.5%. This drawdown is a far cry from the S&P 500’s 9% ascent.

The elite companies can churn out earnings growth under any circumstance, however, and our mission at StockStory is to help you find them. Keeping that in mind, here is one semiconductor stock boasting a durable advantage and two best left ignored.

Two Semiconductors Stocks to Sell:

Texas Instruments (TXN)

Market Cap: $164 billion

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas since the 1950s, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) is the world’s largest producer of analog semiconductors.

Why Is TXN Not Exciting?

1. Sales tumbled by 11.6% annually over the last two years, showing market trends are working against its favor during this cycle

2. Costs have risen faster than its revenue over the last five years, causing its operating margin to decline by 5.8 percentage points

3. Free cash flow margin dropped by 28.4 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

At $183.24 per share, Texas Instruments trades at 30.5x forward price-to-earnings. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than TXN.

Power Integrations (POWI)

Market Cap: $3.36 billion

A leading supplier of parts for electronics such as home appliances, Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI) is a semiconductor designer and developer specializing in products used for high-voltage power conversion.

Why Should You Dump POWI?

1. Flat sales over the last five years suggest it must find different ways to grow during this cycle

2. Efficiency has decreased over the last five years as its operating margin fell by 10.2 percentage points

3. Falling earnings per share over the last five years has some investors worried as stock prices ultimately follow EPS over the long term

Power Integrations’s stock price of $59.99 implies a valuation ratio of 39.4x forward price-to-earnings. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why POWI doesn’t pass our bar.

One Semiconductors Stock to Buy:

Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR)

Market Cap: $33.45 billion

Founded in 1997 by its longtime CEO Michael Hsing, Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) is an analog and mixed signal chipmaker that specializes in power management chips meant to minimize total energy consumption.