After nearly 25 years of ups and downs on the stock market, compound semiconductor wafer supplier IQE (IQE:AIM) is at a real low point.The shares are trading at their lowest level in more than 15 years, after the company announced it would look to raise £15 million from its largest shareholder Lombard Odier as it carries out a strategic review from which one of the options is putting its...

- Stock wiped out two months of progress in a day- Believes it can triple revenues over next five years- Analyst tells clients to 'buy more' in noteShares in IQE (IQE:AIM) took a pounding in early trading on 16 January 2023 after admitting that it sees demand from existing clients slowing in the first half of this year as the clients destock current inventory.The compound wafer supplier to the...

The sell-off in technology stocks since the September 2021 peak as the markets rotate out of growth and into value picks has given DIY investors plenty to chew over.Many UK tech companies have seen valuations hammered, with share prices falling by up to 40% with no meaningful change to earnings, said Canaccord Genuity analysts in a note to clients on Tuesday (1 February 2022).This, Canaccord...

Analysts have taken a sharp knife to forecasts for compound wafer maker IQE (IQE:AIM) after it slashed revenue and earnings guidance. The chip components supplier projected a 40% fall in annual core profit on Wednesday as the Cardiff-based firm's smartphone-making clients place fewer orders due to supply chain issues.The warning from IQE, which makes semiconductor wafers for chips used in...

UK shares continued to climb on Wednesday with the FTSE 100 rising 0.5% back above the 7,300 level thanks to buying of oil majors and mining stocks.Meanwhile, investors were awaiting the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve's latest Open Market Committee meeting, due after the market close, for clues as to the pace of interest rate hikes after recent strong inflation and jobs...

Just as investors were looking the other way, with Chinese shares tumbling on fears of a major default in the property sector and US shares wobbling ahead of a crucial Federal Reserve meeting this week, the global chip crisis has reared its head once again.A combination of weak demand and enforced factory shutdowns during the pandemic, followed by a faster-than-expected global recovery and...

There is a well-worn phrase that 'a week is a long time in politics'. In market terms, a week can feel even longer and can sometimes signal a shift from one trend to another.A fortnight ago when we introduced the idea of watching the number of stocks making new highs as a barometer of the health of the market, the FTSE All-Share was just below its all-time high and everything seemed to be...

The heavyweight sextet of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix are not the only names that matter in the broad technology sector. Granted, Amazon and Apple are among the 20 best performers in America's benchmark S&P 500 index so far this year, but so are several other tech or tech-related firms, notably silicon chip makers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.This is a marked...

Compound semiconductor technology firm IQE (IQE:AIM) said it expected to return to profit in the second half of the year, despite a decline in demand from a worldwide slump in smartphone sales.For first half to 30 June 2020, revenue was expected to be 'at least' £85m, up more than 27% on a year ago. This will mean a return to profit, albeit modest, with IQE guiding for a low single digit...

The news from Apple that the coronavirus will hit sales of its iPhone should not have come as a surprise but has nonetheless provided a jolt to investors who had seemed quite relaxed about the outbreak.There may now be increased attention on the impact on other firms. The management teams of companies with Chinese exposure, either through their manufacturing function or customer base, will...

Markets opened slightly firmer on Monday with the FTSE 100 index 5 points or 0.06% higher at 7,307, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was 76 points or 0.4% to the good, buoyed by gains in general retailers.Investors in semiconductor wafer designer IQE (IQE:AIM) were feeling pain today after the Cardiff based company reported a 'mid-single digit' operating loss and warned on annual revenue for a...

Although there were few nuggets of corporate news as the third quarter drew to a close, the FTSE 100 index of leading stocks continued to climb towards a two-month high adding another 0.1% to 7,331.Support came mainly from the Banks, with HSBC (HSBA) gaining 0.5% to 627p, Barclays (BARC) gaining 0.3% to 151p and Lloyds (LLOY) also adding 0.3% to 55p.Weighing on the index were the Oils, with BP...

UK stocks move higher on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 index up 0.6% to 7,561 as the market waits for confirmation that Boris Johnson has won the race to become the leader of the Tory party and the next Prime Minister.Sectors on the move are construction, healthcare equipment, industrials, metals, mining and technology.In company news, Lloyds (LLOY) has agreed to settle its long-running dispute...

Analysts have slashed earnings forecasts by more than half for compound semiconductor wafer technology designer IQE (IQE:AIM). The Cardiff-based company last week warned of an escalating squeeze on orders as the fallout from the US ban on Huawei rumbles on.This follows an increasingly sharp decline in smartphone handset volumes worldwide as the US and Chinese authorities lock horns over global...

Despite the US S&P500 index hitting a new all-time high of 2,954 yesterday on hopes of a cut in interest rates, UK stocks are fairly muted on Friday with the FTSE 100 index up just 0.1% to 7,429.Lifting the main index are energy stocks, which were also the best performers on Wall Street overnight thanks to a 5% surge in US oil prices due to increased Middle East tensions. Brent crude prices...

Compound semiconductor technology designer IQE (IQE:AIM) has become the first UK-listed business to confirm that its revenue is at risk from the US government ban on Chinese firm Huawei.The Cardiff-based company said on Friday 24 May that up to 5% of its 2019 revenue could be on the line as supply chain disruption ripples out across the microchips industry. IQE is forecast to make around...

UK stocks are trading slightly better on Friday morning with the FTSE 100 index up 0.3% at 6,837 points led by banks, miners and energy stocks.The only notable area of weakness is property stocks with British Land (BLND), Land Securities (LAND) and Segro (SGRO) holding the market back after a series of downgrades from investment bank Citi.Index heavyweight Vodafone (VOD) treads water at 143p...

Alongside electric car maker Tesla, global graphics processing unit leader NVIDIA has acquired quasi-FAANG status, helped by the phenomenal capital gains which it has provided to investors.This makes the company - and its sudden travails, in the form of a profit warning (15 November) and steep share price slide - interesting to this column for two reasons.First, it puts further pressure on the...

It is important to take a balanced view when doing your research either for new investment ideas or to justify keeping current holdings in your portfolio.You should consider the positive investment case and also the challenges and headwinds facing a business, as well as any flaws in its decision making, structure or corporate culture, for example.Many investors find it easier to work out why a...

Cardiff-based compound semiconductor wafer designer IQE (IQE:AIM) deserves credit for the speed at which it has reacted to disappointing news.Late yesterday afternoon news emerged from laser sensor maker Lumentum that a major customer had slashed orders. Lumentum is a major supplier of VCSEL chips to Apple, or vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, used for facial recognition features on...