The Chips That Were Down in 2007

Chip stocks are starting the new year with plenty of bruises.

Fears of an imminent economic recession, along with the current oversupply of memory chips, have beaten down semiconductor stocks.

The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Sector Index is down roughly 18% in the last three months compared with the Nasdaq's 2% decline.

Yet even in this grim environment, there are some stocks that stand out for their sheer underperformance -- stocks that have imploded so thoroughly and spectacularly that their hapless owners no doubt guzzled champagne for reasons other than merrymaking at year's end.

And the chip sector provided a fair amount of these train wrecks in 2007, vaporizing billions of dollars in shareholder value.

As a new year gets under way, it's worth looking back at some of the biggest chip losers of the past 12 months -- examining which might have hit bottom and are poised to bounce back and which have the air of perennial basket cases.

Spansion(SPSN Quote): With its stock down a stunning 74% in 2007, closing the year at $3.93, the flash-memory chipmaker is among the chip sector's biggest flame-outs. To be fair, the company plays in the rough-and-tumble memory sector, where the pain has been widespread: Micron(MU Quote) is down 49% and Qimonda(QI Quote) is down 60% since the start of the year.