Why Altera Jumped

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 Altera (NAS: ALTR) jumped today by as much as 18% after the company reported a strong second quarter and boosted its dividend.

So what: Revenue came out to be $464.8 million, up 21% sequentially. Net income was $162.7 million, or $0.50 per share. Compare those with the market's expectations of $445.2 million in sales and $0.39 per share in profit, and you can see why investors are cheering today.

Now what: The board has also boosted the quarterly cash dividend by 25%, from $0.08 to $0.10 per share. Additionally, the board increased its share-repurchase authorization by 10 million shares up to 14.6 million. CEO John Daane said demand was strong for the company's 29-nanometer and 40-nanometer products, which drove revenue growth. There was particular strength in the telecom and wireless markets.

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The article Why Altera Jumped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributorEvan Niuholds no position in any company mentioned. Check out hisholdings and a short bio. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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