When NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ:
NDAQ
) announced its quarterly reshuffling of the NASDAQ Q-50 Index,
Facebook (NASDAQ:
FB
) was reported to have been added to the list.
The index is designed to track the performance of the 50
securities that are next in line to replace the securities
currently included in the NASDAQ 100 Index. So it would appear that
Facebook is headed for the NASDAQ 100, but Facebook is not alone.
Groupon (NASDAQ:
GRPN
) and Western Digital (NASDAQ:
WDC
) were also added to the list. And among the handful of others,
perhaps less well known that Facebook or Groupon, are Mellanox
Technologies (NASDAQ:
MLNX
), NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:
NXPI
) and TW Telecom (NASDAQ:
TWTC
).
Mellanox Technologies
This Israeli broad line semiconductor company has a market
capitalization of about $4.2 billion. Its PEG ratio and operating
margin are higher than the industry averages, and the long-term
earnings per share (
EPS
) forecast is more than 54 percent. The forecast for the current
quarter has EPS up 72.5 percent and revenue up 124.6 percent
year-over-year. Eleven of the 13 analysts surveyed by Thomson/First
Call recommend buying shares; none recommend selling. They believe
the stock has room to run, as their mean price target is more than
14 percent higher than the current share price. That share price is
more than 200 percent higher year to date, despite pulling back
more than eight percent in the past week. Over the past six months,
the stock has outperformed competitors such as Broadcom (NASDAQ:
BRCM
), as well as the NASDAQ.
NXP Semiconductors
This Dutch technology company has a market cap near $6.6
billion. Here too the PEG ratio and operating margin are higher
than the industry averages. The long-term EPS forecast is more than
29 percent, and short interest is less than one percent of the
float. Last week the stock hit a 52-week high after company
narrowed its third-quarter guidance. Six of nine analysts who
follow the stock and were polled by Thomson Reuters rate it as Buy
or Strong Buy. Their mean price target is about eleven percent
higher than the current share price, as well as higher than the
52-week high. NXP has outperformed peers such as Texas Instruments
(NASDAQ:
TXN
) over the past six months, but it underperformed the NASDAQ in
that time.
TW Telecom
This telecom is headquartered in Littleton, Colorado, and sports
a market cap near $3.9 billion. It has a long-term EPS growth
forecast of more than 22 percent, but the price-to-earnings (P/E)
ratio is higher than the industry average. Second-quarter revenue
exceeded analysts' expectations but EPS fell short. Short interest
is about 3.3 percent of the float. Ten of the 17 analysts polled
recommend buying shares; none recommend selling. But their mean
price target is less than four percent higher than the current
share price. Still, year to date, TW Telecom has outperformed
larger competitors AT&T (NYSE:
T
) and Verizon Communications (NYSE:
VZ
).
(c) 2012 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice.
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