Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $895.88, but opened at $955.66. Micron Technology shares last traded at $926.5340, with a volume of 22,841,248 shares.

Micron Technology News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Micron Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS sharply raised its price target on Micron to $1,625 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling Wall Street expects the memory boom to last longer than previously thought. Micron Smashes $1 Trillion Market Cap After UBS Triples Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Articles cite an unprecedented supply deficit in memory chips, giving Micron greater pricing power and supporting expectations for margin expansion and strong free cash flow. Micron’s $1 Trillion Memory Melt-Up
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports say AI infrastructure spending and long-term supply agreements are locking in demand for Micron’s chips, which investors view as extending the earnings supercycle. Micron joins $1 trillion club as AI race powers memory chip boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Micron’s valuation has become extremely rich on a trailing basis, and some commentary warns the stock is now priced for perfection, which could make it more sensitive to any slowdown in AI demand or memory pricing. Wall Street Thinks This AI Powerhouse Is Headed to $1.6 Trillion, But Historical Cycles Suggest It’s a Stock to Avoid Like the Plague
• Neutral Sentiment: Micron’s new domestic memory production ramp in Virginia and broader U.S. expansion efforts support the long-term story, but these are more of a strategic backdrop than an immediate trading catalyst. Micron Expands U.S. Memory Production With Virginia DRAM Launch

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $360.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $450.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $320.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $470.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.80.

Micron Technology Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $528.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $397.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 43.25 and a beta of 1.91.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $12.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.19 by $3.01. Micron Technology had a net margin of 41.49% and a return on equity of 41.16%. The firm had revenue of $23.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. Micron Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 196 on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 57.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Micron Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven J. Gomo sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $787.03, for a total value of $1,574,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,488,907.17. This trade represents a 10.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.39, for a total value of $13,895,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,679,776.43. This trade represents a 24.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,000 shares of company stock worth $47,032,460. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MU. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 21.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. United Bank bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the second quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 67.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 16,984 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after buying an additional 6,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 5.6% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 405,545 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $49,987,000 after buying an additional 21,619 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

About Micron Technology

Micron Technology, Inc is a global semiconductor company that designs and manufactures memory and storage solutions. Its product portfolio includes dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, solid-state drives (SSDs), memory modules and embedded memory solutions for a wide range of computing and electronic devices. Micron supplies components used in data centers, enterprise and cloud infrastructure, client computing, mobile devices, automotive systems and industrial applications, and also markets consumer-facing products under the Crucial brand.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Micron has grown into an international manufacturer with research, development and production facilities across multiple regions.