Although several innovators tied to the explosive artificial-intelligence ecosystem swung higher on Thursday, Microchip Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MCHP) represented a conspicuous laggard. What appears to have dragged down the semiconductor firm — which specializes in microcontrollers used in industrial, automotive and embedded systems — is investor anxiety related to management's tepid outlook. Still, the red ink has arguably contributed to a counterintuitively bullish thesis for short-term speculators.
On surface level, Microchip should be humming. For the fiscal first quarter (released Aug. 7), the semiconductor specialist posted earnings of 27 cents per share, beating out Wall Street analysts' consensus target of 21 cents. On the top line, the company generated $1.08 billion, above the consensus view of $1.05 billion.
