Stock Upgraded: Chartered target price upgraded to 10.6 usd by Citigroup!

Citigroup has lifted its target price for Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd's American Depositary Receipt (ADR) to 10.60 usd from 8.80 as it believes Chartered is well positioned for a strong recovery in the next 6-12 months. Each ADR is equivalent to 10 ordinary shares, which means Citigroup's target translates to 1.06 usd or about 1.63 sgd per share. Chartered's ADRs rose 0.14 usd or 1.59 pct to close at 8.96 on Nasdaq overnight. "Better execution and strong product roadmap, coupled with customer diversification in the leading edge process (of 65-nanometer chips) supports our positive view," Citigroup said in a research note. Capacity utilization at Chartered's newest wafer fabrication facility, Fab 7, is running at 75-78 pct, better than the 74 pct forecast by Citigroup as the company has managed to secure more orders from computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices, it said. At the midday break, Chartered was up 0.04 sgd or 2.96 pct at 1.39 with 7.57 mln shares traded.