Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $95.77, but opened at $113.10. Micron Technology shares last traded at $112.21, with a volume of 25,833,613 shares traded.

The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.65 billion. Micron Technology had a negative return on equity of 4.01% and a negative net margin of 7.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 93.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.21) EPS.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 7th. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is -32.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MU shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James boosted their target price on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $138.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.38.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the second quarter valued at $28,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC acquired a new position in Micron Technology in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 230.7% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 248 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 128.6% in the second quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 256 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 57.2% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 272 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $119.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.77 and a 200 day moving average of $114.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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.