On a day when many tech stocks dipped into the red, shares of
National Semiconductor
(NSM)
were up 1.7% after the company raised its second-quarter guidance late Tuesday. The stock climbed 74 cents, to $43.15, in afternoon trading.
Last night the analog chipmaker said it now expects sequential growth of 7% to 10% from first-quarter revenue of $424.8 million, implying a range of $455 million to $467 million. It had initially forecast growth in the range of 4% to 7%.
Analysts are gearing for $449 million in sales and 28 cents earnings per share for NSM's quarter ending in November.
In a statement, CEO Brian Halla said the current quarter has seen a higher-than-expected number of turns orders (orders that are placed and executed within the quarter). "We began this quarter with a solid backlog position, and order rates have continued to be strong across a number of our product lines, especially in areas such as power management and wireless," he said.
NSM will deliver its second-quarter earnings report on Dec. 4.
