Why Freescale Semiconductor Shares Popped

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 Freescale Semiconductor have popped today by as much as 15% following an analyst upgrade.

So what: Piper Jaffray analyst Gus Richard boosted his rating on Freescale from "neutral" to "overweight," while similarly hiking his price target from $15 to $18. The analyst is increasing sales estimates for this year and next year.

Now what: Richard believes that Freescale has some gross margin upside ahead of it that will correspond with higher factory utilization and an improving product mix toward high-margin products. The company should also lower its interest expense as Freescale is in the process of restructuring its debt at lower rates.

Interested in more info on Freescale Semiconductor? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

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The article Why Freescale Semiconductor Shares Popped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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