Shares in chip manufacturer Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) ticked over 2% higher in pre-market deals after third quarter numbers cheered investors and analysts and beat forecasts.
Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.62,on revenues of $5.57bn, as the firm said cost- reduction measures were working. Analysts had expected $1.51 for EPS and $5.41 billion in revenues.
"Micron delivered strong operational performance in the third quarter with free cash flow nearly double last quarter, which enabled us to retire $1 billion in debt," said president and chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra.
"Our results reflect solid execution of our cost reduction plans and ongoing favorable industry supply and demand dynamics.
"The global trends taking shape today, including machine learning and big data analytics, are exciting and create significant opportunities for Micron.
"We are focused on positioning the company to realize these opportunities by investing in technology and products while also strengthening our balance sheet."
Heavyweight broker Deutsche repeated a 'buy' rating and raised the price target to $37 from $35 on the stock.
Analyst Sidney Ho said EPS and revenues were above consensus projections, as management benefitted from a 14% quarter over quarter DRAM (dynamic random access memory) ASP increase.
The results also reflected higher gross margins, coupled with upside guidance to EPS and revenue.
Shares in pre-market are up 2.48% to $32.25 each.
Micron Technology, Inc. $MU Receives “Buy” Rating from Stifel Nicolaus https://t.co/IGQDFnDrNo
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