Pick of the U.S. Technology Stocks – Two Niche Tech Stocks in Growing Markets

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VERIGY LTD. $19.82 (Nasdaq symbol VRGY; SI Rating: Speculative) (1-800-447-8378; www.verigy.com; Shares outstanding: 60.0 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion) designs and makes test systems used in computer-chip production. Verigy’s revenues in the three months ended January 31, 2008 rose 21.2%, to $200 million from $165 million a year earlier. It earned $0.53 a share, up 140.9% from $0.22. Thanks to its balanced product portfolio, plus the addition of new customers such as Rambus, revenues and profits increased in the latest quarter, despite overall weakness in the semiconductor test industry. Verigy operates in a highly competitive and increasingly cyclical field. But it’s a growing market. For example, flash memory chips developed for use in digital cameras are now increasingly used in mobile phones, media devices like Apple’s iPod, and USB flash drives. Future uses will likely include memory in personal computers. The company spends around 13% of revenues on research and development to keep up with new trends and stay ahead of its rivals. In…