Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) Short Interest Up 27.9% in December

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 42,300,000 shares, a growth of 27.9% from the December 15th total of 33,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 21,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Micron Technology in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $148.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group cut their target price on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.24.

Micron Technology Price Performance

MU stock traded up $3.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $105.75. The company had a trading volume of 18,832,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,325,942. The company has a market capitalization of $117.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48 and a beta of 1.18. Micron Technology has a 12-month low of $79.15 and a 12-month high of $157.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.66.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Micron Technology will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total transaction of $416,676.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 181,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. This trade represents 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Micron Technology by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,904 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,141 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,291 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 1,591 shares during the period. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $997,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,916 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 1,264 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Micron Technology Company Profile

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.