Shares of camera sensor maker OmniVision Technologies (OVTI) are struggling today, amidst speculation the company has lost share to Sony (SNE) in the latest version of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, the “4S,” introduced on Tuesday.
The stock is down $1.07, to 6.3%, at $15.97.
In a note published this morning, R.W. Baird’s Tristan Gerra, who has a Neutral rating on OVTI, writes that his “field research” suggests the company has lost some share to Sony in the 4S, citing anecdotal evidence that the Sony part matches the phone’s specs.
“Various websites report these Sony Ericsson smartphones feature a Sony image sensor of the exact size as for the iPhone 4S (3264×2448),” he writes, adding, “Additionally, image sensor makers typically customize their sensors specifically for Apple without necessarily releasing the specs.”
Gerra thinks, too, that the company’s fiscal Q2 forecast offered in August corroborates his suspicion, as the forecast couldn’t possibly have been as bad as it was if OmniVision had won 100% of Apple’s contract for the iPhone 4S. Ergo, they must have lost some share.
But JP Morgan’s Paul Coster comes to the stock’s defense, reiterating an Overweight rating in a note to clients.
Coster notes Apple describes an a larger “active array size” to the iPhone’s sensor. That, he suggests, implies the phone uses OmniVision’s “OVT8830 CIS” chip.
“The iPhone 4s sensor active array was announced to be 3264 by 2448, which is an exact match for the Omnivision OVT8830 first-generation BSI image sensor,” writes Coster.
“We note that Sony’s IMX105PQ 8MPx chip has a 3288 by 2472 array.”
Coster has not gotten confirmation from OmniVision management,! and not es the company has been reluctant to disclose customer deals in past. Still, he advises buying OVTI shares on weakness today. That forecast prompted hand-wringing over OmniVision’s relationship with Apple, and so in a sense, today’s debate is an update on the debate that took place in August.
Related Articles:Best Stocks October 2013
1 Reason Boston Scientific Looks Attractive
Tags: Best Stocks ,Best Stocks October 2013 ,EVEP ,KLIC ,NCT ,POM ,PPL ,TRW ,Top Dividend Stocks 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment