Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Up 1% - Here's Why

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shot up 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $122.56 and last traded at $121.59. 5,388,111 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 23,634,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. KGI Securities raised shares of Micron Technology to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Micron Technology from $112.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.80.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 3.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $93.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.33.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 14.92%. Micron Technology's quarterly revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $192,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,996,320. The trade was a 8.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 2,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total value of $275,509.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 384,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,305,514.35. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,404 shares of company stock valued at $5,572,867 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,956,411 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $256,701,000 after acquiring an additional 525,596 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Micron Technology during the first quarter worth about $57,628,000. SWS Partners raised its stake in Micron Technology by 2.5% during the first quarter. SWS Partners now owns 21,529 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,871,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Westbourne Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 555.9% in the 1st quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc. now owns 17,590 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 14,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 312.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 138,878 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $12,067,000 after buying an additional 105,178 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.