Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Up 5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Micron Technology's shares rose 5% on Friday, trading as high as $117.49, despite a significant decrease in share volume compared to the average.
• Analysts are optimistic about Micron's future, with upgrades from multiple firms and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", predicting an average target price of $146.44.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings of $1.91 per share, exceeding expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share with a yield of 0.4%.

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shot up 5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $115.88 and last traded at $117.49. 6,484,745 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 23,004,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Arete Research raised Micron Technology to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.44.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $131.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 1.37. The business's 50-day moving average price is $115.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.13.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.34. Micron Technology had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio is 8.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark J. Murphy sold 34,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.32, for a total value of $3,716,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 264,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,864,415.52. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Manish H. Bhatia sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total value of $9,852,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 275,067 shares in the company, valued at $33,877,251.72. This trade represents a 22.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 286,042 shares of company stock valued at $34,679,277 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 225.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 13,250.0% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 267 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Micron Technology by 259.6% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 356 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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