NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Mar 15, 2012) - Semiconductor stocks have been on an impressive run in 2012 as the global economy continues to rebound and tablet sales continue to skyrocket. The PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors Portfolio (PSI) is up more than 11 percent this year, reflecting a strong uptick throughout the industry. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the semiconductor industry and provides equity research on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: [ NVDA ]) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: [ AMD ]). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

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Earlier this week Gartner Inc. raised its 2012 worldwide semiconductor revenue growth projection to 4 percent as the market researcher says the industry is poised for a rebound starting in the second quarter. "The inventory correction is expected to conclude this quarter, foundry utilization rates are bottoming, and the economic outlook is stabilizing," said Bryan Lewis, research vice president at Gartner.

The improved 2012 forecast "assumes the European debt issues stay contained, Iran/Israel tensions stay in check, and solid growth from China," cautioned Lewis.

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In the memory sector, Gartner expects DRAM prices to improve beginning in the second quarter. The DRAM market will show a slight revenue increase in 2012 after being the worst-performing market in 2011. DRAM prices were down about 50% in 2011, and Gartner analysts expect pricing to rebound. Meanwhile, Gartner argues that NAND flash memory is one of the fastest-growing device types in 2012, with revenue forecast to grow 18%. Gartner analysts attribute the NAND flash growth to a strong increase in mobile consumer devices and solid-state drives.

Semiconductor revenue from media tablets will reach US$9.5 billion this year, as media tablet unit production is forecast to increase 78 percent this year from a year earlier, Gartner said.

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