Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $79.02 and last traded at $78.21, with a volume of 10239532 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $88.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MU shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group lifted 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. Morgan Stanley increased 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 decreased their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.76.

Micron Technology Stock Down 12.9 %

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

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 27,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

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