Auriga Securities analyst Sandeep Shyamsukha this morning initiated coverage of Nvidia ( NVDA ) with a Buy rating, up from the Hold rating that had been maintained on the stock by Shyamsukha’s predecessor, Daniel Berenbaum, who left the firm this month.

Piper Jaffray semiconductor analyst Gus Richard returns this morning with a contention he’s made over the last several weeks, namely that Intel ( INTC ) is scouting for foundry business to fill its fabs. Over the last few months we have been hearing comments from industry contacts that Intel is talking to OEMs about a foundry relationship

It’s no secret that New Zealand’s always harbored a little bit of a “baby brother” complex. First, to their trans-Tasman ( I looked it up ) neighbors, Australia, who apparently have a reputation for taking credit for Kiwi singers and desserts , amongst other things. But now that they’ve shot a ridiculously successful trilogy of films about some magic Hobbits who are deeply in love with each other , it seems that they’re ready to fire a few shots in our direction as well.

Canaccord Genuity analyst Richard Davis today writes that trading could be rough for some “ cloud ” computing-related software companies over the summer. “The average [software as a service (SaaS)/Cloud software stock [based on] 2011 estimates is valued at 6.6x EV/revenues and 38x Free Cash Flow ,” writes Davis, “for businesses that should grow revenues 25% and FCF 52% on average. I think we could see a multiple point come off of the revenue multiple to get us to the 5-6x forward level; which implies 16% multiple compression.” Davis actually has Buy recommendations on several of these stocks, and so his purpose is to point out where there may be opportunity for investment if there is a downdraft in the shares

2011 seems to be the year that mobile payments go mainstream with everyone from the big mobile carriers and handset manufacturers to scrappy new startups scrambling on to the payments bandwagon.

Shares of video game maker Take-Two Interactive ( TTWO ) are up 3 cents at $16.13 down 35 cents, or 2%, at $15.75, after the stock was briefly halted in advance of its fiscal Q4 report , which easily beat estimates.

Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials ( AMAT ) this afternoon reported fiscal Q2 revenue and earnings ahead of estimates but forecast the current quarter’s results to fall to a level less than expected. Revenue in the three months ended in April rose 24%, year over year, to $2.86 billion, and were up 6% from Q1′s level, yielding EPS, on a non-GAAP basis, of 38 cents

“Excuse me, do these effectively hide my thunder?” Dr. Tobias Fünke

Shares of software vendor Salesforce.com ( CRM ) are up $3.45, or 2.4%, at $148.75 after Morgan Stanley’s Adam Holt this morning raised his rating on the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight, with a $200 price target, writing that workloads on “cloud” computing facilities, such as the company’s “Force.com” online platform, is going to rise 50% per annum, compounded, through the next three years, based on Morgan Stanley’s survey of 300 IT executives. Usage of cloud-based applications will increase from 51% of companies today to 80%, Holt says the data show. Salesforce should be the biggest beneficiary, Holt thinks, and he believes consensus estimates for the company don’t reflect the rate of growth, instead modeling something like 20% cloud industry growth

Shares of software vendor Salesforce.com ( CRM ) are up $3.45, or 2.4%, at $148.75 after Morgan Stanley’s Adam Holt this morning raised his rating on the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight, with a $200 price target, writing that workloads on “cloud” computing facilities, such as the company’s “Force.com” online platform, is going to rise 50% per annum, compounded, through the next three years, based on Morgan Stanley’s survey of 300 IT executives.