Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 4.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s stock price traded down 4.8% during trading on Monday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $140.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Micron Technology traded as low as $97.72 and last traded at $97.87. 8,082,888 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 21,257,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.85.

Several other analysts also recently commented on MU. Barclays raised their target price on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Micron Technology from $138.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.86, for a total value of $664,355.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 available through this link. In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.86, for a total transaction of $664,355.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 142,321 shares in the company, valued at $19,335,731.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 34,284 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total transaction of $5,220,767.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 719,049 shares in the company, valued at $109,496,781.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,174 shares of company stock worth $7,710,093. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

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

Micron Technology Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $117.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $108.51 billion, a PE ratio of -68.92 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business earned ($1.57) EPS. Micron Technology’s revenue was up 81.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently -32.39%.

Micron Technology Company Profile

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.