Micrel Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Micrel (NAS: MCRL) rose more than 15% in early trading after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat expectations.

So what: The chip maker's numbers were hardly perfect, however. Revenue decreased 6% to $64.2 million, below estimates, while adjusted per-share earnings fell an almost breathtaking 36% year over year to $0.16 a share -- and yet it was still two pennies better than Wall Street had predicted.

Now what: I'm not so sure the beat matters, and neither do a lot of Big Money investors. Micrel had given back more than 10% of its early gains on what could be profit-taking. What would you do? Would you buy shares of Micrel at current prices? Please weigh in using the comments box below.

Interested in more information about Micrel? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team. He didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned at the time of publication. Check out Tim's portfolio holdings and Foolish writings, or connect with him on Google+ or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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