Investing.com – Chipmaker Micron (NASDAQ:MU) rose on Wednesday, shrugging off concerns from Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) analysts that memory pricing headwinds would hurt growth.
Wells Fargo cut its earnings and revenue estimates for the first and second quarters of Micron's 2019-20 fiscal year. Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) said it expects revenue from memory-chip sales will fall short.
Despite the call, Micron (NASDAQ:MU) shares rose 3.4% by 2:30 p.m. ET (19:30 GMT). The shares are up nearly 55% in 2019, slightly ahead of the 52% gain for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index was up 2.2% on Wednesday.
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) now sees Micron's fiscal-first-quarter earnings per share and revenue at $0.45 and $4.92 billion respectively, down from $0.50 and $5.17 billion.
The consensus estimate of analysts compiled by Investing.com is Micron (NASDAQ:MU) will earn 48 cents a share on revenue of $5.02 billion.
Micron will release fiscal-first quarter results after the close on Dec. 18.
But the bank stopped short of downgrading its rating on Micron, maintaining its outperform rating and a $60 price target on the stock, citing a positive risk-reward balance in the valuation.
The Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) target on Micron is ahead of the $54.93 consensus target of analysts followed by Investing.com.
In the previous quarter, semiconductor companies, including Micron, were hurt by weakness in the China market amid the ongoing U.S.-Sino trade war and softness in NAND flash memory pricing and sluggishness in demand for chips used in data centers.
Micron has recouped some of the losses following its post-earnings slump in September when the chipmaker reported a large earnings decline and warned of a disappointing holiday season ahead.
The chipmaker said it expects adjusted earnings of 39 cents to 53 cents a share on revenue of $4.8 billion to $5.2 billion for the first quarter of its new fiscal year, the holiday quarter.