Marvell: Earnings Estimates Surge

Marvell Technology's (MRVL) impressive fiscal first-quarter results led to a more than 80% gain in earnings estimates.

Earnings Estimates Surging

Earnings estimates for Marvell Technology Group Ltd. soared by 82% over the past seven days, as analysts were impressed with the microchip designer's fiscal first-quarter performance.

Ten of 13 covering analysts got in on the fun and boosted expectations for the year ending in January to 60 cents per share, compared to 33 cents a week earlier.

Looking even further out, those 13 analysts currently expect 77 cents per share for the year ending in January 2010, marking expected growth of 22% from this year.

Credit Goes to a Strong Fiscal First Quarter

Marvell earned 11 cents per share in its fiscal first quarter, which trounced the consensus by more than 266%. In the year-ago quarter, the company lost nine cents. Revenue grew 27% to $804 million, versus $635 million a year earlier.

The company said it surpassed its long-term gross margin goal of 50% and made significant progress toward its long-term operation margin goal of 20%, on a recurring non-GAAP basis.

Marvell, whose chips are used in Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and Research In Motion's (RIMM) Blackberry, attributed the quarter's results to operating efficiencies, stronger-than-expected sales of 802.11N wireless connectivity devices, Network Attached Storage processors and higher demand for printer system-on-a chip products.

Another big part of the company's strong performance was cost-cutting initiatives that were implemented earlier.

Where Do We Go From Here?

In addition to rising earnings estimates, Marvell also enjoyed sharp share gains and brokerage upgrades after its quarterly report. Analysts see a lot of potential for this company moving forward, and a share price of only about $17 makes this a strong contender for the type of aggressive growth stocks that this article attempts to uncover.

What is Marvell?

Marvell Technology Group is a leader in storage, communications and consumer silicon solutions. Its diverse product portfolio includes switching, transceiver, communications controller, wireless, and storage solutions that power the entire communications infrastructure, including enterprise, metro, home and storage networking.