Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 12.6% – Time to Sell?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s stock price dropped 12.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $77.39 and last traded at $77.47. Approximately 13,873,844 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 22,685,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MU. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $91.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.76.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $72.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.42 and its 200-day moving average is $98.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. Micron Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is presently 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Micron Technology news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $1,442,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,482.42. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Micron Technology by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 583.3% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 410 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 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.