Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $140.00. The stock had previously closed at $102.85, but opened at $100.67. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Micron Technology shares last traded at $101.08, with a volume of 3,018,992 shares traded.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MU. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $165.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In related news, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.57, for a total value of $941,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 719,049 shares in the company, valued at $96,762,423.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.86, for a total transaction of $664,355.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 142,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,335,731.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.57, for a total transaction of $941,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 719,049 shares in the company, valued at $96,762,423.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,174 shares of company stock worth $7,710,093 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Micron Technology by 0.3% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,749 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in Micron Technology by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 330 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Micron Technology by 1.5% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,582 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Micron Technology by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,625 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 57.2% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 272 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Trading Down 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $117.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.92 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.14. Micron Technology had a negative net margin of 7.20% and a negative return on equity of 4.01%. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.57) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 81.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th were issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -32.39%.

About Micron Technology

Micron Technology, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells memory and storage products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Compute and Networking Business Unit, Mobile Business Unit, Embedded Business Unit, and Storage Business Unit. It provides memory and storage technologies comprising dynamic random access memory semiconductor devices with low latency that provide high-speed data retrieval; non-volatile and re-writeable semiconductor storage devices; and non-volatile re-writable semiconductor memory devices that provide fast read speeds under the Micron and Crucial brands, as well as through private labels.