Sony and AMD offer investors inexpensive ways to play the emerging trend.
Virtual reality is one of the more exciting trends in technology. The industry remains in its infancy, but several companies are positioning themselves to take advantage of the growing demand for VR headsets and content. Facebook and NVIDIA are popular picks, and for good reason: Both companies could play major roles in the VR economy.
But unfortunately, both stocks are expensive, Facebook perhaps exceptionally so. Investors looking for a bargain might consider AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) or Sony (NYSE:SNE) instead.
The only other option
If you want to use a high-end virtual reality headset, such as Facebook’s Oculus Rift or HTC’s Vive, you’ll need a PC equipped with a powerful graphics card. Right now, there are only two companies offering such a card, and AMD is one of them. That gives it an opportunity to grow its graphics business substantially in the months and years ahead.
AMD’s share of the graphics card market lags behind that of market leader NVIDIA by a sizable percentage. In the first quarter of the year, AMD captured just 22.8% of the market compared to NVIDIA’s 77.2%, according to Jon Peddie Research. But AMD has an opportunity to claw back market share by capturing the low-end segment. Read More...