SiRFs Up, Dude - The GPS Wave Is Just Starting To Roll In

GPS chip maker SiRF Technology Holdings (SIRF) is on a upswing and it blew past $30 after a weak opening yesterday.

I wrote back in July to keep an eye on the stock as it got clobbered after reporting second quarter earnings. Shortly thereafter, I wrote about its recovery citing a positive AP article. I even said that I am going to buy some SiRF myself. I actually ended up waiting until the third quarter earnings came out and got in under 25.

SiRF is the leader in its field and I know competition worries are abound. There was even a Barron’s article citing growing competition. However, I am willing to ride this SiRF until I see any signs of competition hurting them. I love the GPS market and feel like its still got a long ways to go. It's a market that is not saturated at all. GPS devices are still not commonplace and are still pretty expensive. We still haven’t seen full scale integration of GPS devices into Cellphones, Smartphones and Ipod’s (one can hope?) among other things. Only a handful of cars on the road have GPS navigation devices but I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want a GPS navigation device in their car. The only thing keeping them back is the price.

I realize that Garmin (GRMN) fell hard earlier due to margin pressures but I think Garmin and other manufacturers can cut down in other areas before worrying about GPS chips. Garmin Nuvi sells for over $500 but the SiRF chip in it is less than $10.

SIRF 1-yr chart: