DURHAM – Cree reported earnings and revenue that both topped Wall Street expectations on Wednesday,and investors reacted positively, driving up Cree shares more than 3 percent in after-hours trading just after the financials were disclosed.
Shares also advanced despite a Tuesday downgrade from a Wall Street analyst firm.
The LED, semiconductor and power supply firm reported earnings of 23 cents a share, topping expectations by 6 cents, according to business news web site SeekingAlpha.
Revenue came in at $413 million, beating projections by more than $4 million.
Revenue also was up 12 percent year-over-year.
Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) shares closed Wednesday up nearly 3 percent at $49.42.
That rally came even though Wall Street firm JMP downgraded Creek to “Market Perform” from “Market Outperform” on Tuesday. Cree’s shares were already trading above the firm’s target of $46.
According to Bloomberg as cited by SeekingAlpha, analyst Joseph Osha noted Cree is in “an excellent competitive position” yet the firm “cannot see the basis for a higher target multiple or lower discount rate at this point.”
Late Wednesday afternoon, shares climbed another 3 percent to $50.65. Its 52-week high is $51.78.
“We delivered excellent results in the second quarter, with non-GAAP [generally accepted accounting principles] earnings per share that exceeded the top end of our target range driven by another record quarter for Wolfspeed combined with gross margin improvement in all three businesses,” Gregg Lowe, Cree’s CEO, said in a statement.
“This performance is particularly gratifying when considering the current challenges associated with tariffs and global trade tensions. While we’re certainly not immune to the turmoil in our served markets, our business is demonstrating a resiliency that we believe shows we are on the right track with our strategy.”
For the current quarter, Cree forecast revenue between $385 million to $405 million
