Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading 2.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Micron Technology's stock rose 2.3% to $127.13, with a significant volume drop of 51% compared to average trading sessions.
• Analyst price targets for Micron's stock have increased, with KeyCorp raising it to $160.00 and Rosenblatt Securities setting a target of $200.00, reflecting a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings beat with $1.91 EPS, exceeding estimates and demonstrating a revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter.

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shot up 2.3% during trading on Friday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $129.60 and last traded at $127.13. 10,996,120 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 22,426,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.21.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MU. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sumit Sadana sold 92,638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.49, for a total transaction of $11,625,142.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 201,326 shares in the company, valued at $25,264,399.74. This represents a 31.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.67, for a total transaction of $278,070.68. Following the sale, the director owned 20,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,330,287.82. This trade represents a 10.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 264,884 shares of company stock valued at $32,363,889 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 225.0% in the second 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. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 13,250.0% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 267 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 4,500.0% during the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 276 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.84% of the company's stock.

Micron Technology Stock Up 5.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $147.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $117.85 and its 200 day moving average is $101.68.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.83 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 13.60%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. Micron Technology has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.650 EPS. Analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

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

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.