Shares of chip maker Micron (MU) were rising early Thursday after an industry tracking group forecast a supply shortage for chips next year.

Consumers are likely to seek more capacity and companies will replace PCs next year after having waited out tough economic times, and DRAM memory will fall into short supply, according to DRAMeXchange, a industry tracking site. PC shipments are likely to rise 13% in 2010, according to the tracker s latest forecast on Thursday.

The bottom line: That would just be more good news for Micron, which topped earnings estimates earlier in the week.

DRAM pricing, explosive gross margin expansion and strong demand from computing and consumer end products drove earnings above even high estimates, wrote Wedbush Morgan analyst Betsy Van Hees, who has an outperform rating on the stock.

Pfizer Down

Pfizer (PFE) shares dipped slightly early Thursday after an FDA rejection.

The Food and Drug Administration said data in Pfizer s application for the drug, Lyrica which is already approved for fibromyalgia, nerve pain and as an add-on therapy for partial seizures was insufficient to gain approval as a single therapy for general anxiety disorder (GAD).

We are disappointed with the FDA s decision and will work with the agency to determine next steps, said Steve Romano, vice president, medical affairs head, in Pfizer s Primary Care Business Unit.

Pfizer s already received a non-approvable letter by the FDA in August 2004, and the more recent application was a response to that FDA action.

The bottom line: It s unclear what the insufficient data is at this point and how long it will take Pfizer to get it. Lyrica is still under review separately as an adjunct therapy for the treatment of GAD.

Notably investors didn t seem too worried on Christmas Eve as shares recovered into positive territory by late morning.