Mindspeed Technologies (NASDAQ: MSPD) stock was my selection for the best stocks for 2011 list, and is coming along quite nicely, with the shares up 35% in the first quarter alone.
As you can see in the chart below, the Mindspeed stock has broken through both its 50- and 200-day moving averages. It looks like the first resistance for MSPD stock is going to be around $8.64, but all my technical indicators show that long-term, the stock is still a blazing buy even after these big gains.
I’ve just read the semiconductor outlook for 2011, issued by Databeans, and it is very healthy for stocks like Mindspeed! The research company is forecasting that current economic growth will spur a recovery in both the electronics industry and semiconductor industry, boosting the semiconductor market to some $321.8 billion worldwide this year.
That’s about an 8% growth rate compared with 2010 — not a barn-burner, but it is certainly in the right direction. This is especially encouraging, considering all the volatility caused by unrest in the Middle East, Europe’s ongoing economic troubles and the disaster in Japan.
According to Databeans, the highest growth areas will be:
- Optoelectronics, 12%, to $25.2 billion, due to growth in smartphones, digital cameras and HDTVs, as well as the rapidly emerging solid-state general lighting market for residential and commercial segments.
- Analog, 10%, to $46.8 billion, due to expansion of the market for power management ICs, signal processing components and interface products.
- Memory, 8%, to $73.6 billion, as demand for PCs improves, especially for DRAM sales, as well as NAND Flash demand for smartphones and tablet PCs.
Additional positive news for the industry was reported last week by the Semiconductor Industry Association, which said that North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.58 billion in orders in February 2011, 4.7% more than the January 2011 level of $1.51 billion, and is 26.7% higher than February 2010.
That’s great news for the industry, as well as semiconductor stock Mindspeed.
Check out the other FREE stock picks that make up InvestorPlace.com’s Top 10 Stocks for 2011.
