Texas Instruments Inc (TXN)

[Stock]

Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) sharply raised its second-quarter guidance after the market closed Monday, and investors responded by buying.

TI shares recently rose 3.7% to $20.50 in after-hours trading. The stock has climbed about 26% this year.

In its regular mid-quarter update, the semiconductor maker said it now expects earnings of 14 cents to 22 cents a share on revenue of $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion, up from its April guidance of per-share earnings of 1 cent to 15 cents a share on revenue from $1.95 billion to $2.4 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 10 cents a share on revenue of $2.21 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

In the prior-year quarter, the company earned 44 cents a share on revenue of $3.35 billion.

TI, one of the world's biggest chip manufacturers, has been winding down its business in wireless communications, where it believes growth will slow, and focusing on chips used in more high-end handsets and cellphones, where it expects outsized growth.

The chip sector has been on a wild ride since late last year as customers slashed spending and chip makers rushed to lower production or risk piling up unsold inventories.

Before TI issued its update, Pacific Crest Securities predicted the chip maker would raise its outlook to the higher end of its range because of bookings strength from inventory restocking by North American and Japanese customers.

Last week, Barclays PLC (BCS) raised its estimates on TI because of its improved cost cutting and factory utilization. The general manager of TI's mobile communications and computing business unit, Seshu Madhavapeddy, last week said the technology sector is bottoming out and companies are seeing a better performance in the second quarter compared with the first quarter.

TI makes chips used in phones, televisions, digital cameras and calculators.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5975; [e-mail]