Barron's TECHNOLOGY TRADER
MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2007
By ERIC J. SAVITZ
online.barrons.com
IN THE LATEST SIGN of strength in personal computers, handsets and other consumer electronics, Toshiba (TOSBF) last week said it has sold out its supply of NAND flash memory through the end of the year, and is turning away business.
That bodes well for Micron Technology (MU), which reports results Tuesday for its fiscal fourth quarter ended August. Micron shares are always volatile; they are the classic example of a trading stock as opposed to an investing stock.
Never consistently profitable, the chip maker's fortunes are determined in no small measure by the state of the memory-chip market. Some still equate Micron with DRAM, but over the years, the company has diversified a bit. Daniel Amir, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets, asserted last week that the upcoming earnings could hold a positive surprise in the form of better-than-expected NAND results. He sees revenue of $1.46 billion and a loss of 12 cents a share, versus the consensus of $1.39 billion and a loss of 23 cents.
Meanwhile, investors await word on the potential sale of Micron's image-sensor business. Amir thinks the unit will be spun off in the first half of next year -- a move that could act as a catalyst for the stock. He thinks the stock, which last week was a bit north of 11, can reach 14. |
