LEDs boost Cree's profit

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Cree is expanding in China

Cree, which last month announced a major expansion to its Durham manufacturing plant, also is expanding in China to keep up with growing demand for its LEDs.

This morning the Durham-based company announced that it has agreed to purchase a 592,000-square-foot facility in Huizhou, which will be its first chip manufacturing facility outside of North America.

"This investment enables us to expand our presence in China and demonstrates our commitment to serving the growing demands of both our local and global LED customers," CEO Chuck Swoboda said in a prepared statement.

Cree shares jump 10 percent

Shares of LED maker Cree soared to their highest price in nearly nine years in mid-day trading today in the wake of the company's better-than-expected quarterly results.

Cree shares were trading at $45.30, up 10 percent, around noon. Shares of the Durham-based company fetched less than $16 at the outset of this year.

Cree expands in China

Cree's expansion effort is spanning two continents.

The company - which last month announced it plans to hire hundreds of workers at its Durham manufacturing plant - on Monday said that it is expanding in China to make more LEDs, increasingly used in energy-efficient lights.

"They have very little choice but to keep up with demand," Morgan Keegan & Co. analyst Harsh Kumar said. In recent quarters, Cree has left revenue on the table because of insufficient manufacturing capacity,Kumar said..

LED chip sales give Cree a boost

Cree shares jumped above $30 in after-hours trading Tuesday, the highest level in more than a year, after the Durham company raised its revenue and profit targets for the current quarter.

The company is selling more LED chips used in light fixtures and to illuminate notebook computers and other gadgets. The sales increase suggests that Cree is avoiding the broader slowdown in technology spending. Cree officials are attracting interest from businesses, schools and government agencies interested in LED lights, which are more expensive but longer-lasting and more energy-efficient than traditional lights.

Raleigh and Chapel Hill, for example, are using Cree LEDs in parking decks and street lights.

Cree stock soars on profit report

Shares of LED maker Cree soared to their highest price in nearly nine years Wednesday in the wake of the company's better-than-expected quarterly results.

Cree shares closed at $45.89, up 11 percent. Shares of the Durham company fetched less than $16 at the outset of this year.

Morgan Joseph analyst Ilya Grozovsky significantly raised his revenue and profit forecasts for Cree and upgraded his rating on the stock to a "buy." The analyst's new 12-month target price for the stock is $55.