Chip fabrication equipment maker Lam Research (LRCX 5.04%) experienced a bit of a rally in its stock on Monday. A big researcher flagged the company as a fine bargain in the semiconductor universe, and investors took the recommendation to heart. They pushed Lam's stock up by more than 5% in value on a day when the S&P 500 index dipped into the red with a 0.2% decrease.

Bank on Lam, says researcher

That researcher was Bank of America, which felt compelled to update investors on the current state of "semi" stocks.

According to reports, in its analysis the bank pointed out that semiconductors have been (for the moment, anyway) exempted from the sprawling list of tariffs imposed by the current U.S. presidential administration on this country's trading partners. That's in contrast to finished products, including smartphones, that are packed with the technology.

The Bank of America team wrote that, in its opinion, companies with traits like solid fundamentals and strong pricing power will come out ahead of peers in the current adversarial climate. It specifically mentioned four potential winners in the broad semi space. Along with Lam, these are Nvidia, Broadcom, and Cadence Design Systems.

All four of those companies, according to the bank, offer attractive scale, boast relatively wide profit margins, and have strong balance sheets.

No one likes a fight

The main concern of the analysis is, of course, the current tariff spat, and just now it's anyone's guess how and when it'll be resolved. On that basis alone, I'd personally be quite wary of manufacturers that are either based outside the U.S. or are dependent on components from abroad. Yes, resilient fundamentals are encouraging, but a protracted conflict could damage even the strongest businesses.