Shares of chip designer Cavium Networks Inc. ticked up Friday as Jefferies & Co. initiated coverage of the stock with a "Buy" rating, predicting strong sales growth for the company over the next few years.

The stock climbed 81 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $22.43 in morning trading.

Jefferies analyst Adam Benjamin said Cavium is benefiting from a shift to multi-core processors, chips that combine processors to enhance computing power and efficiency. The company designs semiconductors for network gear providers.

Benjamin estimates Cavium has a backlog of orders totaling $500 million and is gaining traction with customers including Cisco Systems Inc., Huawei Technologies Co., Nokia Siemens Networks, Juniper Networks Inc. and Alcatel-Lucent.