Written by StockNews.com

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdsaq: MU ) late Thursday [Mar 23, 2017 | 4:03pm] posted solid fiscal second-quarter earnings and offered a much better than expected third quarter outlook, sending its shares soaring in aftermarket trading.

The Boise, Idaho-based semiconductor maker reported Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.90, which was $0.04 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.86.

Revenues surged 58.4% from last year to $4.65 billion, matching analysts’ view for $4.65 billion. Micron noted the big revenue bump was due to higher DRAM average selling prices and also an uptick in trade NAND sales volumes.

Looking ahead, MU forecast Q3 EPS of $1.43 to $1.57, blowing away Wall Street’s expectations of just $0.93. Q3 revenues are seen between $5.2 and $5.6 billion, also way ahead of analysts’ $4.52 billion view.

The company commented via press release:

“Strong demand and limited industry supply for NAND and DRAM solutions, combined with significant progress on our cost reduction plan, produced excellent results for our second quarter,” said Micron CEO Mark Durcan. “I’m proud of the team’s execution on critical technology and operational initiatives, which will allow us to continue to capitalize on market trends.”

Investors rewarded Micron’s blockbuster results and outlook by sending its shares up $2.06 (+7.78%) to $28.53 in after-hours trading Thursday. Year-to-date, MU had already gained 20.76% prior to today’s report, versus a 4.66% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

MU currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #8 of 93 stocks in the Semiconductor & Wireless Chip category.