Semi: No Sign of End Market Improvement, Avian Says

So, did you buy a PC this week? How about a cellphone? A printer? A switch?

Probably not. And that could be a problem.

The higher the current rally takes the semiconductor stocks–the SMH, the Semiconductor HOLDRS, is up 18.5 percent over the last seven sessions–the more you can expect the Street to dig into the question of whether there has been any real change in demand beyond inventory restocking. Auriga USA analyst Daniel Berenbaum took up the question yesterday; he says signs of true improving end demand are scant.

Today, Avi Cohen, head of research at Avian Securities, takes a look, and reaches the same conclusion.

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