MagnaChip Semiconductor (MX) Receiving Somewhat Positive Media Coverage, Analysis Finds

News coverage about MagnaChip Semiconductor (NYSE:MX) has been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment reports. The research firm identifies negative and positive news coverage by analyzing more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. MagnaChip Semiconductor earned a daily sentiment score of 0.13 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the semiconductor company an impact score of 47.2262907459583 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next several days.

MagnaChip Semiconductor (MX) traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.85. 340,002 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 208,329. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of -4.96. The stock has a market cap of $434.96, a P/E ratio of -20.87 and a beta of -0.29. MagnaChip Semiconductor has a 1-year low of $6.40 and a 1-year high of $13.40.

MX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of MagnaChip Semiconductor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. ValuEngine downgraded shares of MagnaChip Semiconductor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. TheStreet downgraded shares of MagnaChip Semiconductor from a “c-” rating to a “d” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of MagnaChip Semiconductor in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.67.

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Samsung profit guidance disappoints, memory outlook cloudy

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> said it would likely rake in a record fourth-quarter profit but the guidance fell short of consensus estimate, spooking investors already worried that a memory chip boom could be ending sooner rather than later.

Shares of Samsung fell almost 4 percent as the world's biggest chipmaker became one of the first major semiconductor firms to indicate disappointing results could be on the radar at a time when NAND memory chip prices are easing.

Samsung pegged its October-December operating profit at 15.1 trillion won ($14.1 billion), an all-time high and up 64 percent from a year ago but shy of a 15.9 trillion won average estimate from 17 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. It estimated revenue at 66 trillion won, also slightly below expectations.

The Apple Inc <AAPL.O> smartphone rival did not elaborate on its performance. However, two analysts said a strong won and a year-end bonus for staff in the semiconductor business likely dented the South Korean firm's quarterly profit by about 400 billion won and 400-500 billion won, respectively.

Samsung shares ended down 3.1 percent, versus the broader market <.KS11> that fell 0.1 percent and shares in rival SK Hynix <000660.KS> that fell 1.7 percent, amid worries over the outlook for smartphones and the so-called chip "super-cycle".

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Graphite Electrodes Market Revenue will Reach $27.5 Billion by 2022, Says Esticast Research and Consulting

WASHINGTON, N.J., Jan. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global graphite electrodes market was valued at $5.04 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $27.5 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 28.4% from 2017 to 2024. In 2016, the ultra-high graphite electrode segment generated the highest revenue share in the global graphite electrodes market. The supply of graphite electrodes from China has decreased significantly in past couple of years, however, the country retains its position amongst top three consumers of graphite electrodes in the world.

“Recently, the graphite electrode prices have risen sharply, impacting both the steel and aluminium industries. Rising prices are majorly a result of sharp cut in supply of graphite electrodes from China. In the present scenario, the demand for graphite electrodes is significantly higher, compared to its supply”

The growth of steel-oriented sectors such as construction, automotive, infrastructure, aerospace & defence, and many others has led to a surge in the consumption and production of steel. Now a days, manufacturers have opted for electric arc furnaces (EAF) for manufacturing steel, which requires graphite electrodes as a main component. Being a prerequisite of steel manufacturing process or smelting process via EAF route, the demand for graphite electrodes is linked to the demand for EAF.

Graphite electrode production in China has fallen drastically, which in turn has resulted into manifold increase in its prices. China, which was a major manufacturer and supplier of graphite electrodes to different countries worldwide is expected to start importing the same in order to meet its own market demand, after it almost stopped the manufacturing of graphite electrodes recently. The country is amongst major steel producers of the world and hence, is inevitably, also a major consumer of graphite electrodes.

Key players profiled in the report are:

• SGL Group
• Graftech
• Fangda Carbon
• Tokai Carbon
• Nippon Carbon
• Graphite India Ltd.
• HEG Limited
• Showa Denko KK
• Yangzi Carbon
• Kaifeng Co. Ltd.
• Jilin Carbon

Source einnews

Oil and Gas Storage Service Industry to Benefit from Increasing Capital Investment in the U.S., Says Esticast Research & Consulting

PUNE, India, Jan. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global oil and gas storage service market was valued at $8.42 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $10.38 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 2.6% from 2017 to 2024. In 2016, the storage segment generated the highest revenue share. Among major regions, the U.S. oil and gas storage service market was the highest revenue generating market valued at $2.51 billion in 2016.

The oil storage service market is witnessing a considerable rise in the current scenario. On a national level, governments use storage tanks to increase energy security. Companies also use oil storage as a strategic tool in order to get good returns in the global market. In the context of global concern for ‘peak oil’ and decreasing crude oil reserves, storage tanks pose a unique strategic opportunity. Saudi Arabia, U.S, Russia and Japan are some of the prominent countries using the storage services market, primarily driven by the surging oil production and declining oil prices. However, the gas storage services market is expected to lead the market in terms of growth pace, holding a CAGR of 2.8% in 2016.

In the current scenario, the U.S has emerged as the largest market for oil and gas storage services. The country is now a leading natural gas producer, at 65 billion cubic feet, (Bcf) per day.  At the same time, unconventional activity is encouraging the growth of natural gas liquids (NGLs) production, adding over 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day since 2008. Driven by growth in the U.S. natural gas, natural gas liquids, and crude oil, the past 2 years have witnessed a considerable growth in direct capital investment in terms of oil and gas infrastructure assets.

Source digitaljournal

Korean Industry to Be Generally Sunny but Cloudy for Some Sectors

It is expected that the Korea industry will be generally sunny but cloudy for some sectors in 2018, the Year of the 'Golden Dog' according to the Chinese Zodiac system.

It is a dominant view among experts that the semiconductor industry which represents Korea will continue to enjoy a boom this year after last year. On the other hand, many experts say that the Korean automobile industry will face difficulties due to the renegotiation of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among others. The Korean chemical industry has made a great advance last year but many experts say that its progress will falter or slow down this year. The Korean shipbuilding industry is expected to struggle this year, continuing from last year, due to the prolonged order cliff.

Semiconductor Industry Expected to Continue to Grow

The semiconductor industry was the main player that took the lead in the Korean industry last year. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea's semiconductor exports ran to 88.3 billion US dollars by the end of November, up 56.6% from the same period of last year. Strong exports of semiconductors drove up the volume of semiconductor trade above US$1 trillion in three years since 2014.

According to a survey by IHS Markit, Samsung Electronics rose to first place in global semiconductor sales by dethroning Intel which had kept the No. 1 spot in 25 years. By the third quarter, Samsung Electronics enjoyed a global market share of 14.5 percent, generating sales of US$16.53 billion. Intel chalked up a turnover of US$15.879 billion with a 13.9 percent market share. SK Hynix also made great strides. SK Hynix recorded a share of 6.2 percent in the global market by the third quarter with sales of US$7.084 billion.

The semiconductor industry is expected to continue to enjoy a boom this year, continuing from last year. This is because as demand will be able to spike when supply growth is limited, semiconductor prices may jump. However, as DRAM and NAND flash prices went up as high as they could, last year, it cannot be ruled out that the causes of hikes in semiconductors of the year will hardly pull up semiconductor prices a great deal.

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