Nvidia Corp. $7.60 – Nasdaq symbol NVDA

NVIDIA CORP. $7.60 (Nasdaq symbol NVDA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 556.6 million; Market cap: $4.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) designs 3D chips for computers, video game consoles and other devices. Slowing sales of new computers have hurt Nvidia’s shares in the past few months. Restructuring charges and higher warranty costs related to defective chips have also dampened its earnings. In its third fiscal quarter ended October 26, 2008, earnings before one-time items dropped 57.8%, to $111.4 million from $264.2 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 54.5%, to $0.20 from $0.44. Revenue declined 19.5%, to $897.7 million from $1.1 billion. That’s partly due to growing price competition among video chip makers. Despite the slowdown, Nvidia continues to spend heavily on research (23.7% of revenue in the latest quarter). That has led to several promising new products, including an advanced graphics chip for Apple’s new notebook computers. Nvidia’s restructuring should expand its long-term prospects. It also holds cash of $1.3 billion or roughly $2.35 a share, and has no long-term debt. The stock now trades at 13.6 times its projected fiscal 2009 earnings of $0.56 a share. Nvidia is a buy.

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