Ultratech up after swinging to 1st-quarter profit

Shares of Ultratech Inc. rose on Friday, after an analyst upgraded shares of the semiconductor equipment maker on a first-quarter profit that topped Wall Street expectations.

Shares rose 86 cents, or 7.1 percent, to $13.05 in afternoon trading.

UltraTech on Thursday said it swung to a first-quarter profit of $2 million, or 8 cents per share, from a loss of $3.3 million, or a loss of 14 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 14 percent to $31.1 million from $27.4 million.

Analysts expected, on average, earnings of 4 cents per share.

Brean Murray, Carret & Co. analyst Mark Miller upgraded the stock to "Buy" from "Hold" and raised his price target to $16 from $12, implying upside of 22.7 percent to Thursday's $13.04 closing price.

Miller said Ultratech has significantly cut operating expenses and recorded stronger orders in its advanced packaging segment. During the first quarter, sales in this unit rose 52 percent, Miller said.

The company also recorded strong revenue abroad in Asia and Europe, in addition to North America, Miller said.