Micron Beats the Street, But Competition Hits RIM

Micron (NYSE: MU) shares rose in after-hours trading today after the memory firm released better than expected quarterly results, but Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) shares fell after a rare revenue miss.

Micron reported that its sales more than doubled from the year-ago quarter to $1.96 billion, while earnings of 39 cents a share reversed a year-ago loss. Both numbers were well ahead of expectations. In after-hours trading, Micron shares regained most of a 4 percent loss ahead of the report.

But RIM shares fell 5 percent in after-hours trading after the company missed sales estimates, a sign that smartphone competition from the likes of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) may be taking a toll. RIM cited inventory issues for the shortfall.

RIM’s sales rose 18 percent to $4.08 billion, well below the Thomson Reuters $4.3 billion forecast, while earnings of $1.27 a share were a penny light of expectations. Shipments and pricing were also below forecasts, but RIM forecast current-quarter earnings and sales that were potentially a bit better than expected.

Stocks slipped during the day after the ADP employment report came in well below expectations, but it was still the best first quarter for stocks in 12 years.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU), Adept (NASDAQ: ADEP) and Rediff (NASDAQ: REDF) posted gains, while Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) fell around 2 percent each as the quarter drew to a close.

The IPO of Meru Networks (NASDAQ: MERU) was well received, while SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ: SSNC) was little changed in its debut.