Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $180.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $148.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.24.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.70. The stock has a market cap of $117.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MU. Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Micron Technology by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 4,063 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its stake in Micron Technology by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 600 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Micron Technology by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 821 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Micron Technology by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,382 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.