Paul McWilliams was one of the few to not be surprised by the upside surprises in recent quarterly earnings reports from Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), as he has been consistently more bullish than others on Wall Street.

In his Next Inning, the tech stock specialist -- who personally owns a position in the stock -- offers a detailed and in-depth review of the firm's latest results and outlook.

"For the first time in what now seems like at least a year, not a single analyst on the Intel conference call asked about whether netbook sales were 'cannibalizing' notebook sales.

Continue reading Tech guru looks inside Intel (INTC)

Tech guru looks inside Intel (INTC) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Paul McWilliams is well-known for his in-depth and sophisticated analysis of tech stocks in his Next Inning newsletter.

In addition to corporate metrics, he places strong emphasis on superior management. Regarding integrated circuit manufacturer Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI), he notes, "CEO Jerald Fishman really knows how to run a company."

"The numbers posted by Analog Devices and the guidance provided for its fiscal fourth fiscal quarter of 2009 (ends October 2009) were both impressive. And, when taken together, exceeded my expectations.

"As I had expected, there was an inventory adjustment that resulted in a sequential decline in excess of 18% in its shipments to Chinese wireless infrastructure suppliers.

Continue reading Sharp management boosts Analog Devices (ADI)

Sharp management boosts Analog Devices (ADI) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In addition to his in-depth analysis of technical and fundamental metrics, tech sector expert Paul McWilliams pays strong attention to the quality of management in his assessment of technology stocks.

In a special report from his Next Inning newsletter, he looks to a trio of tech players that he recommends as "strategic investments" based in large part on the quality of their chief executive officers.

Here's his look at Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT). explaining why their respective CEOs are the right people for the job.

Continue reading Tech strategy: Buy companies with the best CEOs - Intel, HP, and Motorola

Tech strategy: Buy companies with the best CEOs - Intel, HP, and Motorola originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Though I've long believed Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) was easily the best managed firm in the GPS space, it continues to feel the sting from competitive forces," says Paul McWilliams.

Here, the technology stock specialist and editor of Next Inning reviews the company and the prospects for its new entry in the cell phone market -- the nuvifone.

"As you would expect, the nuvifone is very GPS-centric with all sorts of Geo-tagging features for email, SMS and pictures. It also includes an Opera browser and is fully capable of viewing Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and working with both personal and enterprise email systems.

"While I've not seen one in person yet, what I've heard from those who have and from what I've seen on the GRMN web site, I think the product has potential.

"The key, however, will be how the nuvifone is marketed and how well GRMN does in building an applications store, a factor that I think will be a huge differentiation driver as we move forward in the Smartphone sector.

Continue reading Garmin (GRMN): The wild card is nuvifone

Garmin (GRMN): The wild card is nuvifone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"The decline in the price of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is disconcerting, but on balance, not a surprise," says tech guru Paul McWilliams.

Here, in his Next Inning newsletter, the advisor reassesses his forecast for Intel and the tech sector made at the start of the year, and his continued optimism for the stock's future performance.

"In January, I initially concluded that mature global economies were likely going to exhibit slow growth in 2008 and may dip through a recession.

"However, I also had forecast that emerging economies were large enough to where their contributions, even though they would also probably see some slowing in 2008, would keep aggregate growth high enough to avoid any serious worldwide macroeconomic pain.

"My conclusion was that while it is normal to expect spending by governments, businesses, and consumers to follow GDP patterns, there are what I saw then and still see now as good reasons to believe there would be a preference given for tech.

"In other words, my belief was then and still is today that spending on certain tech sectors would hold stronger than normal in the face of aggregate GDP slowing.

Continue reading 'Reload' your portfolio with Intel (INTC)

'Reload' your portfolio with Intel (INTC) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With concerns over recession, turmoil in the financial sector, fear of rising rates, high market volatility and a rising aversion to risk, many investors have been avoiding technology stocks.

Investors have feared that these economic headwinds will dampen both consumer spending for technology products and reduced capital expenditures for technology in the corporate sector.

Despite these concerns, some of the newsletter industry's leading advisors are looking beyond the current malaise and seeing longer-term value in some of the tech sector's leading players. They believe that much of the "bad news" is already reflected in the price of the shares, with little recognition being given to their longer-term potential.

For those willing to go against the crowd and buy, as they say, "while blood is running in the street," we offer a six-pack of technology stocks that the some top advisors considers to be among their favorite ideas.

Continue reading A six-pack of technology favorites

A six-pack of technology favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In Next Inning newsletter, technology stock guru Paul McWilliams sees weakness in Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ) as an opportunity to buy "one of the best-managed large cap tech companies in the world."

"Following Mark Hurd's appointment as CEO back in 2005, we turned cautiously bullish on the shares. It didn't take long to realize that he was not only making the right decisions, but also executing them swiftly and effectively.

"Hurd hit the ground running, trimming fat and restructuring both internal and sales channel operations. The net results were rapidly growing sales, improved profitability and a much higher stock price.

"Now, in line with our earnings preview, Hewlett Packard announced results that were better than the consensus expectation of the covering analysts; HPQ also raised its full year guidance.

"However, the real news is the company's intention to purchase EDS for $13.9 billion. The news of the acquisition has knocked the stock down to a level that represents a clear value opportunity.

"In my view, this is a brilliant move by HPQ and that the negotiated price represents a solid value for HPQ. I believe this represents an opportunity for investors to buy one of the best-managed large cap tech companies in the world at a clear value price."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ): Tech expert sees sees 'clear value' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 May 2008 10:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"I use the term 'blowout' very sparingly," says tech expert Paul McWilliams in his Next Inning newsletter, which focuses solely on technology investing. "But even 'blowout' falls short of describing the quarter turned in by Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM)."

Indeed, the advisor notes, "I've likely described something as a 'blowout' less than ten times in the past five years. These 'waterfall' quarters don't happen often. As for Sigma, I didn't see this one coming and it's time to fix it.

"As background, SIGM makes media processor SoC (System on Chip) solutions for STB, BluRay and HD DVD, TV and various consumer devices that benefit from hooking into an IP video network.

"IPTV is an IP video network and, as a result of IPTV, we are putting these sorts of video networks in our homes. Roughly 77% of SIGM's sales last quarter were into IPTV STB applications.

"To give you an idea the magnitude of this recent surprise, SIGM's revenue for Q3 of this year (the October quarter) is closer to the forecasts most analysts had for Q4 next year than it was to what they were forecasting for the quarter just closed.

Continue reading Sigma Designs (SIGM): A 'blowout' quarter for media chips

Sigma Designs (SIGM): A 'blowout' quarter for media chips originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.