Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Up 11.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MUGet Free Report) shot up 11.7% during trading on Thursday after Wolfe Research raised their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $1,250.00. Wolfe Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Micron Technology traded as high as $996.77 and last traded at $995.87. 57,994,342 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 44,513,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $891.88.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MU. Mizuho increased their target price on Micron Technology to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Micron Technology from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on Micron Technology from $425.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. DA Davidson began coverage on Micron Technology in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Micron Technology from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $737.63.

View Our Latest Stock Report on MU

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven J. Gomo sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $787.03, for a total transaction of $1,574,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,488,907.17. This trade represents a 10.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.39, for a total value of $13,895,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,737 shares in the company, valued at $43,679,776.43. This trade represents a 24.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 146,000 shares of company stock valued at $85,486,715. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Micron Technology News

Here are the key news stories impacting Micron Technology this week:

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heritage Trust Co grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Trust Co now owns 15,026 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. Generation Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the third quarter worth about $238,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 9.8% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 95,396 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $15,962,000 after purchasing an additional 8,489 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 251.0% during the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 23,086 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,863,000 after purchasing an additional 16,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanda Investment Management Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the third quarter worth about $418,000. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $652.14 and a 200-day moving average of $454.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.02 and a beta of 2.16.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MUGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $12.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.19 by $3.01. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 41.16% and a net margin of 41.49%.The firm had revenue of $23.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 196 on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 59.12 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. This is a boost from Micron Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.83%.

Micron Technology Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Micron Technology, Inc is a global semiconductor company that designs and manufactures memory and storage solutions. Its product portfolio includes dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, solid-state drives (SSDs), memory modules and embedded memory solutions for a wide range of computing and electronic devices. Micron supplies components used in data centers, enterprise and cloud infrastructure, client computing, mobile devices, automotive systems and industrial applications, and also markets consumer-facing products under the Crucial brand.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Micron has grown into an international manufacturer with research, development and production facilities across multiple regions.

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