Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Micron Technology shares gapped up after Wedbush lifted its price target from $500 to $1,300 and kept an Outperform rating, helping drive the stock higher in premarket trading.
• Other analysts also turned more bullish, with firms like Rosenblatt, Morgan Stanley, Cantor Fitzgerald, and TD Cowen raising their targets as AI memory demand and HBM/DRAM pricing remain strong. MarketBeat notes the stock’s consensus rating is still Buy, with an average target below some of the newest lofty estimates.
• The company has also delivered strong fundamentals, recently beating quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while upcoming June 24 earnings are being watched as the next major catalyst. At the same time, some insiders have sold shares and a few articles warn the rally may be stretched.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $500.00 to $1,300.00. The stock had previously closed at $1,043.19, but opened at $1,108.06. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Micron Technology shares last traded at $1,120.9220, with a volume of 13,331,494 shares.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities set a $1,200.00 price target on Micron Technology in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $350.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $520.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $700.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $660.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $913.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.39, for a total transaction of $13,895,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,679,776.43. This trade represents a 24.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 37,439 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $960.38, for a total value of $35,955,666.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 387,064 shares in the company, valued at $371,728,524.32. The trade was a 8.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 146,000 shares of company stock worth $85,486,715. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Micron Technology News

Here are the key news stories impacting Micron Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on Micron Technology (MU) to $1,300 from $500 and kept an Outperform rating, reinforcing the view that the stock still has meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel reportedly initiated or reiterated a $1,500 price target, joining other bullish firms such as Deutsche Bank and TD Cowen that see further upside in Micron as AI memory demand remains strong. Stifel's $1,500 Target Bets Micron Has Further to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlight strong demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DRAM, with Micron seen as a key supplier benefiting from AI infrastructure spending and improving pricing power. Nvidia Supplier Advances Next AI Memory
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s comments that iPhone price increases may be “unavoidable” were cited as another tailwind for memory-chip makers like Micron, since it supports the idea that component costs are staying elevated. Micron Stock Surges Toward Record High. Thank Apple.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several previews and opinion pieces ahead of Micron’s June 24 earnings report say expectations are high, with analysts anticipating strong revenue and EPS growth; the report itself is likely to be the next major catalyst. Micron stock in focus: can HBM demand unlock another 60% rally?
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader tech sentiment improved as markets rebounded, helping support semiconductor shares like MU along with the rest of the sector. SpaceX, Apple, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market
• Negative Sentiment: One article flagged that Micron’s huge rally may be stretched and suggested some investors may want to take profits after the stock’s outsized run, which could cap near-term gains. Take Profits: Top Investor Thinks the Time Has Come to Leave Micron Stock

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,608,094 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $30,427,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954,644 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 52,749,817 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $15,061,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090,644 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,372,821 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,910,198,000 after acquiring an additional 155,860 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,433,456,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,396,655 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $4,679,771,000 after acquiring an additional 794,289 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company's stock.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 53.24 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $718.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $482.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.90.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $12.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.19 by $3.01. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 41.16% and a net margin of 41.49%.The company had revenue of $23.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Micron Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 196 compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 59.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Micron Technology

Micron Technology, Inc is a global semiconductor company that designs and manufactures memory and storage solutions. Its product portfolio includes dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, solid-state drives (SSDs), memory modules and embedded memory solutions for a wide range of computing and electronic devices. Micron supplies components used in data centers, enterprise and cloud infrastructure, client computing, mobile devices, automotive systems and industrial applications, and also markets consumer-facing products under the Crucial brand.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Micron has grown into an international manufacturer with research, development and production facilities across multiple regions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.