Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $109.23, but opened at $104.79. Micron Technology shares last traded at $104.35, with a volume of 4,248,316 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MU. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $148.00 price target for the company. Bank of America cut shares of Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $114.97 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $98.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.53.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total value of $416,676.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Micron Technology during the third quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Micron Technology by 1,096.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 261.1% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 325 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 602.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

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.