Those of you who subscribe to our web research service may have noticed this morning a few new and expanded sections of the web site. For those who have not seen them we encourage you to have a look and send us your feedback.

The first new page, or, actually, enhanced page, is the ‘Company Profile.’ We redesigned the existing ‘Profile’ page, reorganized some of its existing content and incorporated quite a few new elements. The ‘Company Profile’ page, available for every company covered by MarketGrader.com, can be reached by selecting the first option from the drop-down menu off the ‘Company’ link in the ‘Stock Analysis’ section of ‘StockGrader.’ At the top of the page you will find a complete description of the company’s business describing what it does, its products and, in some cases, some of the market segments in which it competes, among other general facts and company background information. Below it we have added a new information grid with items such as the stock’s 52-week range, the 50 and 200-day moving average values and the number of rating changes since we initiated coverage. To the right of the grid you’ll see the company’s address, web site and key executives.

On the page’s third tier we have added two brand new charts (long overdue, we know) that show the company’s revenue and net income per employee alongside the top five companies in the industry and the group’s average. This will provide you with additional context about each company’s operating efficiency and profitability in addition to our wealth of indicators, metrics and analyses available throughout our site. To the right of these two charts you may see the largest and smallest company in the industry as well as the group’s overall rating breakdown.

Finally, at the bottom of the page you will find an enhanced and expanded ‘Industry Ranking’ table that shows the top ten graded companies in the group along with a few other indicators and fundamental metrics such as revenue, net income, free cash flow and price to earnings ratio.

We hope our new ‘Company Profile’ page becomes a good starting point in your research process when evaluating new investment candidates. We’ll discuss our new ‘Stock Ideas’ pages, also launched this morning, in upcoming posts.

When looking to evaluate ETF’s, MarketGrader’s new ETFGrader application adopts a bottom-up approach based on our fundamental analysis. Utilizing StockGrader , we analyze each component’s fundamentals and issue an overall rating for each company in the ETF. We then calculate a weighted average of all components in the ETF, based on the underlying index’s calculation methodology, to arrive at its average overall grade, which is therefore derived from the fundamental strength of its components.

The fundamental rating that we assign each component takes into account four main indicators and 24 sub-indicators. The four main indicators are: Growth, Value, Profitability, and Cash Flow. Each indicator is divided into six sub-indicators such as Growth Potential, Capital Structure, Return on Equity, and Debt/Cash Flow Ratio. The grades for all indicators are then compiled into our overall company rating, or overall grade. Once we have our component ratings, we then calculate our ETF ratings based on a weighted average that takes into account both the components of the ETF and the weight in the portfolio.

Currently the 5 highest rated sector ETF’s in MarketGrader all belong to the Technology sector, and, more specifically, 3 of the 5 track the Semiconductors industry. The following is the list of our top 5 ETF’s complete with their average ETF grade and rating, their average sentiment, the two highest rated components, and the two lowest rated components. Note that grades that are 60 or higher denote a “Buy,” grades between 50 and 60 denote a “Hold,” and grades below 50 denote a “Sell.”

1. HOLDRS Semiconductor (SMH)

HOLDRS Semiconductor received an ETF average grade of 77.8 (out of 100). The market sentiment for SMH is currently positive. The two highest rated components in SMH are Intel Corp (INTC), which has an overall grade of 91.8 and Altera Corp (ALTR), with an overall grade of 86.0. The two lowest rated components are LSI Corp (LSI), with a 46.8, and National Semiconductor Co (NSM), with a 59.4.

2. IShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (SOXX)

IShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund received an ETF average grade of 72.0. The market sentiment for SOXX is currently neutral. The two highest rated components in SMH are Intel Corp (INTC), with an overall grade of 91.8 and Cirrus Logic Inc (CRUS), with an 89.0. The two lowest rated components are NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI), with an overall grade of 27.7, and NetLogic Microsystems Inc (NETL), with a 30.3.

3. IShares Dow Jones U.S. Technology Index Fund (IYW)

IShares Dow Jones U.S. Technology Index Fund received an ETF average grade of 71.8. The market sentiment for IYW is currently neutral. IYW’s two highest rated components are Intel Corp (INTC), with an overall grade of 91.8 and Apple (AAPL), with an 88.0. The two lowest rated components are Ciena Corp (Cien), 18.7, and Diebold Inc (DBD), 19.1.

4. HOLDRS Internet Architecture (IAH)

HOLDRS Internet Architecture received an ETF average grade of 71.8. The market sentiment for IAH is currently positive. IAH’s two highest rated components are Apple (AAPL), 88.0, and Hewlett Packard (HPQ), with an overall grade of 72.2. The two lowest rated components are Sycamore Networks Inc (SCMR), 14.6, and Ciena Corp (CIEN), 18.7.

5. Powershares Dynamic Semiconductors (PSI)

Powershares Dynamic Semiconductors received an ETF average grade of 71.8. The market sentiment for PSI is currently positive. PSI’s two highest rated components are Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc (KLIC), which has an overall grade of 93.5, and Veeco Instruments (VECO), with an 87.2. The two lowest rated components are NVidia Corp (NVDA), with a 44.2, and Electro Scientific Industries (ESIO), with a 54.2.

For the complete rankings of al sector or industry based ETFs in MarketGrader, please click here.