Opinions
Joe Terranova
KLA-Tencor
KLAC-Q
BUY
Aug 04, 2025
Stock price when the opinion was issued
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The semis space has done very well. However, if China builds capacity in this space, then capacity will be lost elsewhere. The market is not considering this. Also, shares of semis are at all-time highs. Don't buy. It's a recipe for disaster. Semis are a great space, but wait for a better entry point.
Great opportunity to pick up 4 pillars. MU on the manufacturing, TSM for the foundry, LRCX or KLAC or ASML as the equipment suppliers, NVDA is a gift down here as a designer. And (he can't believe he's going to say this) even INTC; come 2025, it will be competitive with NVDA.
One of the things his team's looking at right now is that it seems some of the regulations surrounding the semiconductor industry will be reduced (specifically China, but other countries as well). That could mean an expanded market for the semi manufacturing equipment companies, such as KLAC. AVGO has also been a strong performer, and he owns some NVDA. Those two names have strong relative price performance, are economically sensitive, cyclical, and have pricing power.
KLAC offers a yield management tool used in the semis industry. The chart is very good. Problem is that the large-cap names in semis are included in ETFs, so those names have run up without being tied to the cycle. Compare that to non-ETF names, like KLIC, which he prefers but has had a deep sell-off which makes it an opportunity.
Just bought it. Semis were the most punished class when tariffs hit earlier this year. The impact hit semis equipment companies like this, but it hit its 52-week high in July. He prefers buying names that have recently made highs, not months ago (like Applied Materials). Momentum has returned to the semis.