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Honeywell undergoing test flights – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:45:28 +0000

Honeywell International Inc (HON) announced that its Next Generation Flight Management System (NGFMS) is currently undergoing test flights on the Gulfstream G650, and was part of the first flight on the Boeing 747-800.

The NGFMS, which will certify later this year on the Boeing 747-800, enables Required Navigation Performance (RNP) 0.1, and allows operators to comply with the U.S. initiative NextGen Air Traffic Management (ATM) and the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) program. It also supports Wide Area Augmentation System - Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (WAAS-LPV), Future Air Navigation System 1 (FANS-1) and FANS-2 requirements. The company announced that it has completed the initial ground tests for the auxiliary Power Unit (APU) on the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft.

The HGT1700, at 1700 shaft horsepower (SHP), is the largest APU that Honeywell has ever developed. An APU is a gas-powered turbine engine that provides bleed air for starting the main engine and pneumatic and electrical power for cockpit and galley systems. The new APU incorporates proven technology from Honeywell 331-500/-600 APUs, including technologies that have more than 14 million hours of service. The company also announced that its Light Emitting Diode (LED) wingtip navigation lighting is now standard on new production Airbus A320 Family aircraft, comprising the A318, A319, A320 and A321.

Honeywell's LED wingtip navigation lighting lasts up to 40 times longer than current halogen technology, greatly reducing operator maintenance costs. Drop-in LED replacements make maintenance quicker and easier. Honeywell offers retrofit LED wingtip lighting for the A320 Family as well, which requires no aircraft modification for installation.

Honeywell International is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. Major competitors are United Technologies Corporation (UTX) and Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI).

We currently have a Neutral recommendation on HON.
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Newport Digital Technologies, Inc. (NPDT.OB) Introduces First LED Digital Signage Solution with Wifi, 3G and WiMax Wireless Connectivity

QualityStocks — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:52:00 +0000

Newport Digital Technologies, Inc. announced yesterday after the closing bell that it has developed and launched its first leading-edge wireless LED digital signage solution featuring wireless high definition video and audio streaming that is compatible with Wifi, WiMax and nationwide 3G networks offered from companies such as AT&T. The LED digital signage solution also includes [...]

Nexxus Lighting Inc. (NEXS) Technology Produces Industry Leading Results

QualityStocks — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:12:12 +0000

Yesterday, Nexxus Lighting, Inc. announced that its Array Par 30 has the highest efficacy of any directional LED replacement lamp tested in the nine rounds of CALiPER experiments conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy. Copies of the DOE and ITL tests are currently available on the company’s website. The stellar results have also been replicated [...]

Supertex Beats Estimates – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:15:55 +0000

Supertex, Inc. (SUPX) reported net sales of $16.7 million, up 5% sequentially but down 5% year over year. The sequential growth came from all target markets.

Headquartered in California, Supertex designs and sells high-voltage analog and mixed signal Integrated Circuits (IC) for the Medical Electronics, Imaging, Telecom, LED Lighting, and industrial/other markets.

Total LED driver sales, including general lighting applications, grew to $4.4 million compared to $3.9 million in the prior quarter.

The largest customer for Supertex continued to purchase large quantities of LED drivers for backlighting LCD TVs throughout the third quarter. This customer announced that sales of its LED TVs exceeded expectations and surpassed 2.6 million in 2009. Sales in 2010 are expected to exceed 10 million units for this customer. During the quarter, Supertex also shipped LED drivers to another Asian LED TV maker and management expects to add a third customer in the fourth quarter.

Sales of imaging products and EL inverters for cell phones grew 51% sequentially while telecommunications IC sales increased 31%. Sales of medical ultrasound products were slightly down and the demand for medical foundry service business declined by $1.1 million.

Gross margin came in at 48%, lower than management’s targeted goal due to lower net sales and lower capacity utilization in recent quarters compared to previous years. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at 22 cents compared to 15 cents in the previous quarter and 25 cents in the year-ago quarter, easily beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 14 cents.

Going forward, management expects sales of medical ultrasound products and foundry services, along with sales of proprietary products and foundry services in all of the targeted markets to increase by 8 % – 12% by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 on a sequential basis. Management stated that over 70% of forecasted sales have already been shipped or backlogged.
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Hi Score Corp. (HSCO.PK) is “One to Watch”

QualityStocks — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:08:47 +0000

Hi Score Corporation is a leading supplier of eco-friendly lighting products in the Western Hemisphere. The Company offers their customers safe, efficient, solid-state “green” lighting as an alternative to conventional fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. Hi Score Corporation sells their products directly to consumers and businesses as well as to municipalities. Hi Score Corporation offers a [...]

HSCO, IDTA, DrStockPick.com Watch List! for Thursday Dec. 24, 2009, Hi Score Corporation and IDenta Corp.

Dr. Stock Pick — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:18:52 +0000

_________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ DrStockPick.com Watch List! My Picks for Thursday Dec. 24, 2009 are: ************************************************************** HSCO, Hi Score Corporation, HSCO.PK HSCO is a leading supplier of eco-friendly lighting products in the Western Hemisphere. It offers its client base the fiscal and ecological practicality of utilizing safe, efficient, solid state green lighting rather than conventional fluorescent and incandescent [...]

International Development Co., Ltd.’s (DGNG.OB) Innovative LED Technology Showcased at China Hi-Tech Fair 2009

QualityStocks — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:38:47 +0000

Diguang International Development Co., Ltd. disclosed today that it plans to participate in the China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF). The CHTF will run from Nov. 16-21, taking place at the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center. DGNG will hold a press conference the day the fair opens (at 14:00 pm China time) regarding emerging LED TV technology, [...]

Margins Shrink at Supertex – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:46:51 +0000

Supertex Inc. (SUPX) recently reported revenues of $15.9 million in its fiscal second quarter, down 32% year over year but up 17% sequentially.

The sequential increase in revenues was driven by growth in LED driver products for lighting and backlighting, medical electronics products, and electroluminescent (EL) driver products. Orders for LED and EL driver products surged after Labor Day. The company had to rush these orders through its wafer fab and expedite them through backend assembly and test in order to meet customer demand schedules. Demand for medical ultrasound products is also beginning to rebound, as sales grew 17% sequentially.

Management added that its major customer has increased its LED TV sales estimates for 2009 and 2010 while other customers are also ramping up. Sales of LED driver products for general lighting applications have also increased. In anticipation of new cell phone launches, shipments of EL inverter products ramped up in the reported quarter.

Gross margin declined to 47% from 53% in the previous quarter due to the non-linear loading of its wafer facilities and backend operations. Net income declined to $1 million compared to $4.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share came in at 15 cents easily beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 10 cents.

Based on booking, management expects revenues between $16.5 million and $17.5 million in its fiscal third quarter, driven by sequential growth in all end markets. However, customer demand in foundry service business is expected to be lower. During the December quarter, Supertex is planning a normal wafer fabrication facility shutdown for maintenance and hence expect gross margin to be flat in the third quarter.

The top-line has been shrinking from the past few quarters but the company expects demand to pick up in the back-end of 2009 as Supertex indicated that its LED driver business is expected to see substantial growth. Additionally, the Medical segment is anticipated to stabilize in the second half as new design wins ramp up. We await better visibility of these programs before turning positive on shares of Supertex.

Headquartered in California, Supertex designs and sells high-voltage analog and mixed signal integrated circuits. Competition remains intense in the analog sector where the gross margins are traditionally higher including products for the Medical Electronics, Imaging, Telecom, LED Lighting, and industrial/other markets. The company competes with several larger analog semiconductor companies with far greater resources, including Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM), Hitachi LTD (HIT) and Texas Instruments (TXN) for the Medical Electronic market.

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PennyOmega.com Stock Report! 9/01/09, MTSC, DVN, ISLN, RTN, NTRI, FCS

PennyOmega.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:04:41 +0000

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National Semiconductor’s Potential – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:55:34 +0000

Opportunity in several verticals

National Semiconductor's (NSM) management strategy appears to be focused on energy, specifically, in energy generation, consumption and storage. Energy savings in each of these areas will be an important driver of growth over the next decade, in not just developing but developed countries as well.

To date, the company has been focused on its core strength in power management products. It is now extending these capabilities in power management to alternative energy areas, such as powering for solar panels and LED lighting products.

Energy generation:

In June 2008, management announced a solar product, which it refers to as the SolarMagic power optimizer module. The product incorporates National's new PowerWise power management technology, and works on both thin film and crystal line glass panels. It significantly increases the efficiency of solar panels, recouping up to 50% of the power lost in shady areas and when the panels are mismatched, or become old, or accumulate debris and bird droppings.

The opportunity for growth is expected to be significant, both in new and retrofit markets. Management stated that approximately 25 million panels were sold in 2008 by around 10 vendors, including Kyocera (KYO), Sanyo, Sharp, Suntech, Wushi, SunPower (STP), Conergy and First Solar (FSLR).

Management estimates that there are a total of around 75 million panels in the market, which also makes for an attractive retrofit market. SolarMagic is being field-tested at a number of potential customers. The product entered production in March, and first revenue is expected in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

Energy consumption:

The company's adaptive voltage scaling (AVS) technology lowers energy loss in devices during use. Management estimates LED lighting to be a $6 billion market. The company has introduced its LED driver ICs for street lights, backlighting, automotive, and increasingly, general lighting.

National recnetly launched the TRIAC dimmable LED driver based on its AVS technology that enables direct replacement of incandescent or halogen bulbs with LED bulbs. The product enables flicker-free full range dimming of LED lights and maximizes light output.

The company has also introduced LED backlighting solutions. Display Search estimates that 13% of laptops shipped in Q4 of 2008 were LED backlit, double the percentage that was LED backlit in Q3. Therefore, this is another growing market. Management stated that National is also the leading supplier of flash lighting drivers in the mobile phone market. In the last quarter, the company's flash drivers brought design wins in new phone models at four large mobile phone makers.

Energy storage:

This is essentially the battery management area, where National's new PowerWise technology is already being used in automotive electronics. Management is optimistic that the company's technology will help to make electric cars and HEVs more viable, driving growth opportunities in this area.

Other areas of management focus include sensing and detection (security), medical and infrastructure. Management is redirecting R&D spending into these areas.

Sejuti Banerjea contributed to this post.
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