- Northland Securities reports Himax's (NASDAQ:HIMX) Chinese sales have weakened. Shares are off sharply on volume of 4.9M shares (above a 3-month daily average of 3.1M).
- Northland is just two months removed from upping its Himax estimates (while reiterating an Outperform rating) on account of growing LCoS microdisplay design activity.
- Himax cautioned last month its Q1 Chinese smartphone/tablet driver IC sales will be soft. The company is counting on rising sales of 1080p, 2K, and OLED driver ICs, along with large-panel driver growth (driven by 4K TV demand), to help offset.
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Update: More details here. Analyst Tom Sepenzis notes Himax customers Samsung, Lenovo, and ZTE have seen weak Chinese smartphone sales. He's also concerned about soft January/February sales data from Taiwanese firms and Samsung's growing use of OLED displays (rather than LCDs). Sepenzis thinks Q1 sales could be at the low end of guidance.