RF Micro, From Bad To Worse (RFMD)

RF Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD) was down a lot last night but shares are getting spanked even harder now.  In fact, you better brace for a 52-week low for the radio frequency components and compound semiconductor technologies maker.

The company’s revenue for the December quarter was put at about $225 million and sales of 2G components to China-based customers for entry-level handsets were under expectations and its Multi-Market Products Group showed broad weakness in end markets.  Also noted was that customer demand softened during the December quarter and gross margin fell about 9 points sequentially on lower sales, lower factory utilization, and inventory reserves.

The only good news is that sales of components for 3G/4G smartphones increased sequentially approximately 16% during the quarter.

Shares were down about 10% initially but now shares are down about 20% at $4.51 pre0market and the 52-week trading range was $4.95 to $8.48,  We have already seen 2.7 million shares traded with 30 minutes to go.