Needham analyst Charles Shi initiated coverage on ARM Holdings Plc (NASDAQ: ARM) with a Hold rating.
Arm's architecture is the foundation of smartphones. The analyst sees the world as entering a post-smartphone era that will see high-performance computing and IoT lead the next phase of semiconductor growth.
Shi attributed Arm's past success in smartphones to its tightly controlled ecosystem. In new growth areas, however, viable alternatives to Arm exist, and ecosystem control often resides in the hands of others.
Arm can grow by capturing more excellent value from smartphones, but not enough to support the upside from the stock's IPO valuation. So, the analyst awaits a better entry point.
The analyst credits Arm for building a robust smartphone ecosystem that ...