Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $140.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the semiconductor manufacturer's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target suggests a potential upside of 15.50% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $148.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas cut Micron Technology from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $140.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.21.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MU stock traded down $4.70 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.90. The company had a trading volume of 55,258,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,526,689. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $103.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.12. Micron Technology has a one year low of $78.63 and a one year high of $157.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $115.75 billion, a PE ratio of 152.80 and a beta of 1.16.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Micron Technology will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $552,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,348,790. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 42.5% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,299 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,804 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 128.6% in the 2nd 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 period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the 2nd quarter valued at about $139,000. Finally, &PARTNERS grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 15.2% during the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 12,364 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Micron Technology

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.