Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, touchscreen chip specialist Atmel (Nasdaq: ATML) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Atmel's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Atmel facts
| Headquarters (Founded) | San Jose, Calif. (1984) |
| Market Cap | $5.61 billion |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $1.64 billion |
| Management |
CEO Steven Laub (since 2006) CFO Stephen Cumming (since 2008) |
| Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) | 9.8% |
| Cash/Debt | $521 million / $4.06 million |
| Competitors |
AMD (NYSE: AMD) Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 91% of the 352 members who have rated Atmel believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include GrandFunk001 and rdwolf34.
Late last year, GrandFunk001 touched on Atmel's edge in efficiency: "Lower power consumption will really go a long way when customers choose a microcontroller and [Atmel] has the clear advantage here."
Over the next five years, in fact, Atmel is expected to grow its bottom line at brisk rate of 20% annually. That's faster than giant semiconductor rivals like AMD (11.3%), Intel (11.8%), and Texas Instruments (10%).
CAPS member rdwolf34 elaborates on the bull case:
Atmel is a good play on the Smartphone and Tablet explosion that is happening now and for next 5 years plus. ...
In addition, Atmel does a good amount of business in Asia. ... I like the heavy exposure in ASIA for the huge growth potential in computer products Atmel could have their chips in.
There have been recent reports Atmel will be moving from NVM (Non Volatile Mem.) ... to all MCU. I think this is a good move and will help Atmel take advantage of Smartphone and Tablet and other touchscreen embedded products.
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