NVIDIA CORP. $15 - Nasdaq symbol NVDA

NVIDIA CORP. $15 (Nasdaq symbol NVDA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 547.8 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; WSSF Rating: Average) designs video chips that make computer games run more smoothly and appear more lifelike. It outsources most of its production to chipmakers in Asia. Nvidia earned $37.7 million in its second quarter, which ended July 26, 2009. That’s down 49.4% from $74.5 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 46.2%, to $0.07 from $0.13. These figures exclude charges in both quarters for extra warranty payments related to defective chips. Sales fell 13.0%, to $776.5 million from $892.7 million. The company continues to spend around 25% of its revenue on research. It’s devoting most of this to new graphic chips for mobile devices. These should cut its reliance on computer sales. Nvidia holds cash of $1.5 billion, or $2.68 a share, and has little debt. Nvidia is a buy.

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