Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Chinese chip designer Spreadtrum Communications
So what: It was unclear exactly what was driving the momentum in Spreadtrum shares. Yesterday, the company announced the release of a single chip that houses four GSM SIM cards, though it seems unlikely that the new product would elicit this much excitement. Investors may also be reacting to the fourth-quarter guidance from key competitor MediaTek, which said its sales would fall 15% to 20% from the third quarter. As MediaTek has been ceding market share to Spreadtrum, investors may suspect that this dour outlook means more gains for Spreadtrum.
Now what: Unless I've missed something, the most likely driver for today's boost looks to be speculation about market share gains. While gobbling up more market share would certainly be a good thing for Spreadtrum, investors may want to wait for actual news before getting too excited.
Interested in more info on Spreadtrum? Add it to your watchlist here by clicking here.
