The Tualatin, Ore., company makes chips and software to display broadband content. Another newcomer finishing near the top is Dendreon. The Seattle biotech was started by Christopher Henney, co-founder of Immunex and Icos, two other successful biotechs. Merix makes printed circuit boards for sophisticated electronic equipment. As Metawave made evident, companies in wireless were spotlighted.
Semiconductors are an example.
Most chip makers did well, but the best performer was TriQuint Semiconductor, whose chips are used in the wireless industry. Analysts believe the aerospace giant's commercial-jetliner production will overcome whatever was lost by an engineering workers' strike. The Redmond software star was shellacked by a federal judge's ruling that it engaged in antitrust practices. The bottom eight performers were dot-coms. When the market broke in March and April, it represented a shift from investors willing to pay almost anything for Internet stocks to investors needing a strong sense of emerging profitability.