Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $69.55, but opened at $74.67. Micron Technology shares last traded at $72.47, with a volume of 8,011,623 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Micron Technology from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.36.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $88.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.14.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $1,442,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clarius Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 57.9% in the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 14,238 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 5,220 shares during the period. Bell Bank purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the 1st quarter valued at about $327,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 75,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $6,517,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 42.2% during the first quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,793 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,546,000 after buying an additional 5,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Micron Technology in the first quarter valued at approximately $248,000. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.