Altera shares advance after solid 4th-quarter results, revenue outlook

Altera shares jump after strong 4Q results

NEW YORK — Shares of Altera Corp. got a boost Wednesday after the chip maker posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, thanks to higher demand across its markets.

Altera posted a profit of 34 cents per share for the quarter, easily surpassing the 29 cents that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

Sales were also above Wall Street’s estimates, and the company expects first-quarter revenue to increase by 5 percent to 10 percent sequentially, implying sales of $383.3 million to $401.5 million. This is well above Wall Street’s current expectations of 342.5 million.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Ambrish E. Srivastava called the quarter’s results strong, and said the company is doing well both on the top and bottom line, and keeping operating expenses “under control.”

He said the company’s new products led the quarter’s growth, comprising 62 percent of total revenue.

Srivastava nonetheless kept a “Market Perform” rating on the company’s stock, saying it is trading at a fair value at its current levels.

Jefferies analyst Adam Benjamin also kept his rating at “Hold” but raised his target price to $24 from $22.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company’s shares rose $1, or 5 percent, to $22.19 in afternoon trading. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $13.92 and $23.26.