Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $77.87, but opened at $72.50. Micron Technology shares last traded at $71.04, with a volume of 9,984,544 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. China Renaissance lowered Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.36.

Micron Technology Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $90.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.09. The company has a market cap of $77.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Micron Technology news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $1,442,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,482.42. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Micron Technology in the 4th quarter worth $1,470,875,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,096,391 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,458,673,000 after buying an additional 15,993,036 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 47,672,462 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,012,114,000 after buying an additional 12,249,341 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 139.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,281,620 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,370,280,000 after acquiring an additional 9,489,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,437,080 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,383,442,000 after acquiring an additional 4,375,232 shares during the period. 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.