Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Down 5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Micron Technology shares fell 5% during mid-day trading, with a notable drop in trading volume, down 59% from average levels.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Micron, with estimates ranging from $150.00 to $200.00, as the company maintains a moderately positive outlook in the market.
• The firm recently reported strong earnings, exceeding estimates with a $1.91 EPS and a net revenue of $9.30 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) traded down 5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $109.22 and last traded at $109.03. 9,403,196 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 23,165,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MU. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Micron Technology from $98.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Micron Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.44.

Micron Technology Trading Down 3.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $118.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.83 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 18.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. Analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Micron Technology news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.28, for a total transaction of $291,557.12. Following the sale, the director owned 22,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,734,864. This represents a 9.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Steven J. Gomo sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $876,050.00. Following the sale, the director owned 22,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,664.30. This trade represents a 23.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 286,042 shares of company stock worth $34,679,277. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,178 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,264 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 167.0% during the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 45,758 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $3,851,000 after purchasing an additional 28,621 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth $34,412,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,936 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $222,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,680 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 195.2% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 15,650 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 10,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.84% of the company's stock.

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.