D.A. Davidson Upgrades RF Micro Devices On Ramping Revenues, Strong Margin Expansion

D.A. Davidson has upgraded shares of RF Micro Devices RFMD from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $8.50 to $11 after the company reported strong fourth quarter results and strong first quarter guidance. Analyst Thomas Diffely upgrade is based on “ramping revenues and a better than expected margin expansion story.” RF Micro Devices' guidance of 19 percent revenue growth to $305M came in way above analyst estimates of $277 million, but what is more encouraging to Diffely is the “non-GAAP gross margin guidanec of 43.5%-44%.” The analyst is projecting full year 2015 revenue will grow “at a higher clip than the previously guided 10%,” due to exposure to China's 4G LTE buildout and key product launches from Apple AAPL.