Chip Maker Vitesse Continues to Gain

Camarillo-based Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. (VTSS) surged $8.38 to $104.31 on Tuesday, bringing its year-to-date gain to 99%, as brokerages highlighted the stock.

The maker of non-silicon chips for the telecom industry was reiterated “buy” at Merrill Lynch and PaineWebber Group. On Monday Vitesse announced a deal to buy semiconductor maker Orologic Inc. for $450 million.

At Adams Harkness, Rick Faust upgraded Vitesse to “strong buy” Tuesday from “accumulate.”

Chip sales to Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) and others are rising, yet Vitesse “trades at a substantial discount” to rivals “on both a price-to-earnings and price-to-sales basis,” Faust said.

Vitesse is expected to earn 66 cents a share in the fiscal year ending in September.