Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Up 6.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Micron Technology's shares rose 6.2% after BNP Paribas Exane upgraded its rating from underperform to outperform, with a new price target of $270.00.
• The company's quarterly earnings report revealed earnings per share of $2.86, matching analyst expectations, and revenue of $11.32 billion, which surpassed estimates.
• An insider, Director Richard M. Beyer, sold 5,552 shares at an average price of $155.68, indicating a decrease in ownership and reflecting ongoing insider activity around the stock.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shares shot up 6.2% on Monday after BNP Paribas Exane upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to an outperform rating. BNP Paribas Exane now has a $270.00 price target on the stock. Micron Technology traded as high as $193.40 and last traded at $192.77. 20,022,573 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 23,414,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.60.

MU has been the subject of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Micron Technology from $173.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. CLSA began coverage on Micron Technology in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. KGI Securities raised Micron Technology from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Micron Technology from $160.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In other news, Director Richard M. Beyer sold 5,552 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.68, for a total transaction of $864,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 96,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,950,106.08. The trade was a 5.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.04, for a total transaction of $2,460,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,584,383.20. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 146,956 shares of company stock valued at $22,841,025. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MU. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 225.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the first quarter worth $33,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Micron Technology by 13,250.0% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 267 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthCollab LLC boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 4,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 276 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.80 and a 200-day moving average of $114.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.56.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.86. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 22.84%.The company had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Micron Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 46.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Micron Technology has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.06%.

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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