Micron Technology Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:MU)

Key Points

• Micron Technology experienced a significant increase in call options volume, with 206,295 options traded, marking a 31% rise compared to the typical daily volume.
• Shares of Micron rose 5.8% during trading, reaching $131.37, supported by a recent earnings report that exceeded expectations with $1.91 EPS against a $1.57 estimate.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%, while maintaining a low payout ratio of just 8.29%.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 206,295 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately31% compared to the typical daily volume of 157,094 call options.

Micron Technology Trading Up 5.8%

Shares of MU traded up $7.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $131.37. The stock had a trading volume of 28,358,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,547,578. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The business's fifty day moving average is $117.71 and its 200 day moving average is $101.53. Micron Technology has a 52-week low of $61.54 and a 52-week high of $131.41. The firm has a market cap of $147.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67 and a beta of 1.47.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.83 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 13.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. Micron Technology has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Micron Technology will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 8.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MU shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Micron Technology from $84.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Micron Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Micron Technology in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Scott J. Deboer sold 20,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.11, for a total value of $2,502,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 166,353 shares in the company, valued at $20,812,423.83. This trade represents a 10.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Manish H. Bhatia sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total transaction of $9,852,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 275,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,877,251.72. This represents a 22.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 264,884 shares of company stock valued at $32,363,889 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MU. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the second quarter worth about $232,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 58,300 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $7,185,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 1,193.4% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 611,383 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $75,359,000 after buying an additional 564,113 shares during the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Micron Technology in the second quarter worth $4,975,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the second quarter valued at $1,386,000. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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