Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $89.87, but opened at $95.57. Micron Technology shares last traded at $98.39, with a volume of 10,425,230 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Micron Technology in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $148.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Micron Technology from $180.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.19 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.95) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total value of $416,676.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at $15,442,011.83. This trade represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stonebrook Private Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 2.5% during the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 4,063 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 821 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,382 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Micron Technology by 5.3% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

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.