Erste Group Bank Initiates Coverage on Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU)

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank has initiated coverage on Micron Technology, assigning a "buy" rating to the stock, indicating positive outlook for the semiconductor manufacturer.
• Micron recently reported earnings of $1.91 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.34, with revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.24, following a range of updates from various analysts on its price objectives.

Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a "buy" rating on the semiconductor manufacturer's stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $98.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. KGI Securities lowered shares of Micron Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $84.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.24.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MU traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $123.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,118,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,089,502. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $117.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.60. Micron Technology has a 1-year low of $61.54 and a 1-year high of $129.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.75.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.83 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 13.60%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Micron Technology will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In related news, EVP Manish H. Bhatia sold 80,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total transaction of $9,852,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 275,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,877,251.72. This trade represents a 22.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.28, for a total transaction of $291,557.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,734,864. This represents a 9.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 286,042 shares of company stock worth $34,679,277 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Micron Technology by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 85,722 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $7,214,000 after purchasing an additional 13,985 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,494 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,683 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 220,722 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $18,576,000 after purchasing an additional 8,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 112.7% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 15,383 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.