I will admit to being completely befuddled by the action in the RF semiconductor space; this is part of the so called mobile internet tsunami yet in a universe of stocks where only a small % trade below the 50 day moving average, somehow 2 of these stocks are in that "loser" group.

TriQuint Semiconductor (TQNT) reports after the bell tonight and is the only one of the 3 I have a material stake in due to being a slave to price action. I did take profits last Thursday so it is now down to a 1% stake which is decent size going into earnings. If some strange act happens and they disappoint I won't kill the year by taking a big haircut. But if I were a betting man, I'd expect TriQuint to beat and raise and say many positive things; I just think the secular cycle here points in that direction....

... plus the fact its top 2 competitors pre-announced to the upside. Not that it has helped the stocks of late. As I look at RF Micro Devices (RFMD) and Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) I will be interested to see if they move in parallel with whatever happens to TriQuint tonight. As we look at the charts, RFMD is at this point a lost cause... not even close to resistance and flopping around like a fish out of water. Dead money right now; and will be until it gets back over $4.80.

SWKS on the other hand could be close to a change in condition and with my lack of long exposure I'd really like to apply some cash into this name, if it can break free of its resistance - which it is sitting right against. $12.25 is obviously a key level here; a break over $12.75 would be even more promising.


Again, to reiterate both RFMD (Sep 10, 2009: RF Micro Devices Provides Rosy Outlook) and SWKS (Sep 9, 2009: Skyworks Solutions Raises Guidance, CEO Visits Mad Money) have pre-announced good quarters. While RFMD has the Nokia issue hanging over it, I think its an overreaction in the stock. And SWKS is just a mystery onto itself.