Applied Materials, Lam Research spur broad chip-sector gains
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Chip-equipment leaders such as Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) spearheaded advances across the semiconductor sector, Monday, and tech investors looked to start off October with strong gains.
Applied Materials (AMAT) shares rose 5.7% on the day, while Lam (LRCX) climbed by 6.5%, and KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) and Teradyne (TER) shares each closed with a gain of more than 4%. The chip sector, on the whole, put in a strong performance in the wake of some positive sentiment from Bank of America Vivek Arya regarding the opportunities for chip companies in the cloud-computing market.
Arya said in a research report that while chip sector is likely to see some "volatile" trends in the near term, prior declines have historically led to customer spending rising by more than 30% on an annual basis, and that chip leaders should also benefit from new product cycles in the next year and beyond.
Arya also reiterated his buy ratings on Nvidia (NVDA), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO) and Credo Technology (CRDO), and each of those companies' shares rose by at least 2.8% on Monday.
Storage stocks also advanced, with Seagate Technology (STX) up by almost 3%, and Western Digital (WDC) rising 4.6% by the time of the closing bell.
Memory chip giant Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) saw its shares rise more than 3% in the wake of the company last week giving a disappointing quarterly forecast, and saying that it will cut its capital spending plans next year.