Micron earnings – What to know in markets Wednesday

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A major chipmaker is set to report earnings after market close on Wednesday as the broader semiconductor industry holds near record highs.

Micron Technology (MU) is set to report quarterly results for its fiscal first quarter of 2020. Consensus analysts expect the company will deliver adjusted earnings of 47 cents per share on revenue of $5.00 billion, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Such an outcome would mark a return to top-line growth for the Boise, Idaho-based company. Sales have slumped on a year-over-year basis for each of the past five quarters as global demand for memory chips slowed and a trade war raged. Micron had been among the many semiconductor companies hit by U.S. export restrictions to curb sales to Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies earlier this year.

But recently, results from peer chipmakers underscored a rebound in demand for memory chips as customers worked through their inventory glut from earlier this year. Intel (INTC) and Nvidia (NVDA) each topped expectations in their most recent earnings results, helping spur analysts’ optimism for the space as a whole.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index (SOXX) held near its all-time high of $248.25 a share on Friday. Micron shares hit an all-time high of $54.30 during Monday’s trading session.

Micron Technology's solid-state drive for data center customers is presented at a product launch event in San Francisco, U.S., October 24, 2019. REUTERS/Stephen Nellis REFILE - CORRECTING TYPE OF THE DRIVE
Micron Technology's solid-state drive for data center customers is presented at a product launch event in San Francisco, U.S., October 24, 2019. REUTERS/Stephen Nellis REFILE - CORRECTING TYPE OF THE DRIVE

On Tuesday, Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill raised his price target on Micron shares by $10 to $70, and WedBush analyst Matt Bryson upgraded his recommendation on Micron to Outperform from Neutral.

“We are seeing the first signs of improving DRAM pricing,” Bryson said, referring to dynamic random access memory semiconductors typically used in PCs and servers. Meanwhile, pricing for NAND chips used in smaller devices like USB drives “should inflect upwards,” he added.

Separately, other notable events set for Wednesday include weekly MBA Mortgage Application data at 7 a.m. ET and remarks from Chicago Fed President Charles Evans in Indianapolis at 12:40 p.m. ET.

Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @emily_mcck

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