What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after investors took some profits off the table as markets awaited signals on future monetary policy from the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium later in the week.
The downturn in the market was largely attributed to a significant sell-off in megacap tech and chipmaker shares. Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Broadcom all saw notable drops, dragging down the VanEck Semiconductor ETF. Other major tech-related companies like Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Netflix were also under pressure. A key reason for this trend is that much of the recent market gains have been concentrated in the "AI trade," which includes these large technology and semiconductor companies. So this could also mean that some investors are locking in some gains ahead of more definitive feedback from the Fed.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Processors and Graphics Chips company AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) fell 5.5%. Is now the time to buy AMD? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing company Amtech (NASDAQ:ASYS) fell 8.5%. Is now the time to buy Amtech? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Processors and Graphics Chips company Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) fell 4.3%. Is now the time to buy Broadcom? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing company Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) fell 5.6%. Is now the time to buy Marvell Technology? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing company Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) fell 4.3%. Is now the time to buy Semtech? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Amtech (ASYS)
Amtech’s shares are very volatile and have had 23 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock gained 6.9% on the news that the semiconductor sector continued to rally as a favorable July inflation report boosted investor confidence for a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September. Lower-than-expected inflation data for July increased market expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next month, with futures markets pricing in a 96.2% probability. A potential rate cut lowers borrowing costs, which is particularly beneficial for growth-oriented sectors like technology and semiconductors as it can fuel investment and expansion.
Amtech is down 1.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $5.52 per share, it is trading 18.1% below its 52-week high of $6.74 from August 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Amtech’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,068.
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