Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $98.55, but opened at $101.12. Micron Technology shares last traded at $102.88, with a volume of 3,917,468 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Micron Technology from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.04.

Micron Technology Trading Up 2.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $112.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.27 and a beta of 1.16. The business's 50-day moving average price is $103.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.21. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.21) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 93.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 67.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $552,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,830 shares in the company, valued at $15,348,790. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MU. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Micron Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in Micron Technology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Micron Technology by 1,096.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its stake in Micron Technology by 128.6% during the 2nd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 256 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.84% of the company's stock.

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.

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