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

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MU shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $117.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is 13.26%.

Insider Activity at Micron Technology

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 181,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MU. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 262,100 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $22,058,000 after purchasing an additional 10,700 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $2,525,000. UG Investment Advisers Ltd. lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. UG Investment Advisers Ltd. now owns 609,137 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $51,265,000 after purchasing an additional 122,822 shares in the last quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $2,704,000. Finally, Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $703,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

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.