We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Semiconductor Penny Stocks To Invest In Right Now.In this article, we are going to take a look at where Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE:SQNS) stands against the other semiconductor penny stocks.
With the age of artificial intelligence having made an indelible mark on the stock market, semiconductor stocks have been thrust into the spotlight. While it's typically the stocks at the top of the semiconductor food chain, such as the AI GPU designer whose shares are up 740% since ChatGPT was made public or the Taiwanese contract chip manufacturer responsible for making AI GPUs or processors for Apple, that catch the media and public attention, the semiconductor industry is made of a plethora of other firms as well.
Broadly speaking, the semiconductor industry comprises firms upstream and downstream of the chip supply chain. Starting from the former category, these semiconductor stocks start from those that provide design intellectual properties and hardware used to manufacture chips. Moving further downstream, semiconductor fabrication firms such as the Taiwanese firm whose American Depository Receipts (ADRs) have gained 133% since ChatGPT's public unveiling started to play a role. Finally, the downstream chip supply chain is made of designers who sell the products and others who assemble chips into the hardware needed for their proper functioning.
To invest in semiconductor stocks, an investor needs to know which supply chain category a stock belongs to. This is because industry dynamics often have a varying effect on stocks at different rungs of the supply chain. Additionally, when we talk about downstream stocks, then the markets that they cater to also play a role in the share price performance.
Stocks that are upstream are affected by broader industry trends and find it difficult to benefit from sector-specific tailwinds such as artificial intelligence. As an illustration, consider the performance of three upstream semiconductor stocks. The first stock ranks 7th on the list of 15 AI stocks shaping Wall Street, the second is 19th on Goldman Sachs' list of top growth investors, while the third ranked 12th and was losing popularity among institutional investors according to Bank of America. The first two stocks are up 16% and 4% over the past twelve months while the third is up by a more modest 1%. Compared to the Philadelphia semiconductor stock index, a widely followed industry benchmark that has gained 32.2% over the same period, all three semiconductor stocks have underperformed.
A brief look at the three stocks' business model sheds light on the reasons behind their lackluster performance. Starting from the worst stock whose shares are up by 1%. The firm provides semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as those used in wafer cleaning, etching, and film deposition. This means that it has exposure to the broader and non-AI sectors of the downstream semiconductor industry as well. Additionally, during its fiscal year 2024, 42% of the firm's revenue came from the memory industry. These chips run parallel with integrated circuits in computers, and their demand has been depressed recently and only started to recover in mid-2024. It also has exposure to China, and semiconductor tensions between the US and China haven't boded well for the stock either.
Similarly, the semiconductor stock that is up 16% over the past year also has notable exposure to China. During the nine months ending in July 2024, 40% of its revenue came from China. Yet, for the three months ending in July, this percentage dropped to 32% as US government restrictions against American chip firms from supplying products to China continued to affect it. This semiconductor firm provides products such as plasma abatement systems, epitaxy systems, film deposition systems, and etching masks. As a result, even if there are no US-Chinese tensions, the fact that China's economy and industrial production have slowed naturally reduces the demand for its products.
On the downstream end of the semiconductor supply chain, there is a clear bifurcation between AI and non-AI stocks, or those with exposure to integrated circuits and GPUs, and those with no exposure. To understand how to consider two stocks of firms that manufacture semiconductors. The first is the Taiwanese firm which we've mentioned above. Its ADRs are up 87.2% year-to-date. The second ranks 16th on our BofA list shared above, and its shares are down 14.5% year-to-date. Starting from the former, during the third quarter, 51% of the firm's revenue came from high-performance computing (HPC) products. These chips are involved in data centers, enterprise computing, and other workloads, and they also have wide exposure to the artificial intelligence industry. This firm also manufactures AI GPUs for Wall Street's favorite GPU designer, and the culmination of its end markets coupled with the fact that its 3-nanometer manufacturing process is an industry leader has seen investor optimism surge surrounding its fortunes.
On the flip side, the semiconductor stock whose shares are down 14.5% has little exposure to HPC and AI chips. As of H1 2024, 53% of the firm's $3.7 billion revenue came through products that it sold to the automotive industry. This firm is known for selling chips manufactured through silicon carbide. These chips are used to manage power in electric vehicles, and as EV demand has slowed down in 2024, investors have fled the stock in response. The semiconductor stock hasn't been helped by the fact that slowing industrial activity led to a 21% industrial revenue drop during H1.
As should be clear by now, semiconductor stocks come in all flavors. One such flavor, when analyzing them through share prices, is the penny stock segment. These stocks belong to smaller companies that do not have sizable revenue to power their valuation. Yet, penny stocks, when prudently considered, also often have the chance for stronger returns due to their low prices. On the flip side, these stocks are prone to market manipulation, and since they're not as frequently covered by analysts or the media, understanding the fundamental drivers of their share price is complex. With these details in mind, let's take a look at some semiconductor penny stocks.
Our Methodology
To make our list of the best semiconductor penny stocks, we ranked semiconductor and semiconductor equipment stocks under $5 by the number of hedge funds that had bought the shares in Q3 2024 and picked out the top stocks.
Why are we interested in stocks that hedge funds pile into? 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).
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A macro view of a 5G/4G chips and modules, displaying the cutting edge technology of the company.
Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE:SQNS) is a French specialty semiconductor company. The firm makes and sells baseband chips, radio frequency transceivers, and systems-on-chips (SoCs) that are used in 4G and 5G networks and gadgets. As a result, the firm's performance depends on the health of the telecommunications and smartphone industries. Both of these are cyclical sectors and tend to perform well when the economy is robust. Since it's a small and custom company, Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE:SQNS) benefits when larger players are interested in acquiring it. The firm also suffers when the opposite is true, and this was the case in February when after Renesas terminated its acquisition deal for Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE:SQNS), the stock tanked by 65%. Since then, it has only seen some tailwinds after Qualcomm acquired the firm's 4G IoT tech, which also enabled Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE:SQNS) to retire its debt and become cash-healthy. On a broader level, the firm's hypothesis depends on its ability to develop new technologies and keep attracting larger players.
Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE:SQNS)'s management commented on how the Qualcomm deal will help it for years to come during the Q3 2024 earnings call. Here is what they said:
"Starting with financial stability. I’m pleased to confirm that in October, we fully repaid all mature debt and it cleared all overdue payables to our suppliers. Our balance sheet is now nearly debt-free, marking a significant turning point in our ability to operate with a greater flexibility. With our strategy centered on massive IoT, we are now well positioned to make targeted investments in R&D, while effectively managing and reducing our cash burn rate in 2025. Combined with anticipated revenue growth next year, we are confident in our trajectory toward achieving breakeven by 2026. I want to recognize the incredible support we have received from our customers. Over the past year, our customers have remained steadfastly committed to Sequans despite our challenges.
Overall SQNS ranks 8th on our list of the semiconductor penny stocks to invest in now. While we acknowledge the potential of SQNS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SQNS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
