Marvell Technology shares wavered Friday even though the chipmaker beat analyst expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter and guided higher for the current period, thanks to across-the-board sales gains. MRVL stock alternated between modest gains and losses.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company late Thursday said it earned an adjusted 50 cents a share on sales of $1.34 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 29. Analysts had expected Marvell earnings of 48 cents a share on sales of $1.32 billion, according to FactSet. On a year-over-year basis, Marvell earnings rose 72% while sales climbed 68%.
For the current quarter, Marvell expects to earn an adjusted 51 cents a share on sales of $1.425 billion. That's based on the midpoint of its guidance.
Analysts had predicted earnings of 49 cents a share on sales of $1.38 billion in the fiscal first quarter, FactSet said. Marvell's outlook would translate to year-over-year growth of 76% in earnings and 71% in sales.
"Revenue grew in all five of our end markets in the fourth quarter, with strong contributions from cloud, 5G and auto, which together represented 40% of total revenue," Chief Executive Matt Murphy said in a news release.
Marvell makes networking and data storage chips used in cloud computing, automotive, communications and other applications.
MRVL Stock Seesaws After Report
"In addition, our enterprise networking end market has become another growth pillar, with revenue increasing 64% year over year, driven by our content gains and share increases, as enterprises continue to transform their infrastructure to address the needs of a more flexible, hybrid workforce," Murphy said.
On the stock market today, MRVL stock wavered up and down. It ended the regular session down 2.8% to 63.41 during an overall rough day for the market. On Thursday, ahead of the earnings report, MRVL stock sank 3.7% to close at 65.20.
Earlier in the session Friday, MRVL stock tried to retake its 200-day moving average line.
Needham analyst Quinn Bolton reiterated his buy rating on MRVL stock but trimmed his price target to 105 from 115. In a note to clients, he said Marvell stock has a valuation that is "hard to resist." He called Marvell his top semiconductor pick.
MRVL stock ranks No. 11 out of 30 stocks in IBD's fabless semiconductor industry group, according to IBD Stock Checkup. It has an IBD Composite Rating of 89 out of 99. IBD's Composite Rating is a blend of key fundamental and technical metrics to help investors gauge a stock's strengths. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
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