By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Micron rose 5% on Monday after Barron's said the outlook is improving and shares could double.
The memory chip maker has lagged the Nasdaq's 2020 increase, up about 9% versus the index's 32% rise. Shares are trading at a two-year high.
Demand for automotive chips has come back quickly after dipping as operations halted amid the spread of the coronavirus, and 5G smartphone sales -- which use more DRAM and flash than 4G phones -- should rise to 500 million units next year up from 200 million this year, Barron's said.
Micron (NASDAQ:MU) also got hit with the U.S. crackdown on Huawei, which represented almost 10% in revenue and is now nil, the financial news source reported, since being forced to stop selling to the Chinese company in September. On Saturday, Reuters reported that Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) had received an exemption from the U.S. government allowing it to sell 4G mobile phone chips to Huawei. Micron has also apparently applied for similar permission.
The company has beat profit and revenue estimates for the past seven quarters, with its most recent earnings per share of $1.08 comparing to the expected 98 cents.
Analysts also seem largely partial to the stock. Micron has 17 buy ratings, five holds and a single sell.