Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Decline 1.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) experienced a 1.6% decrease in its share price during mid-day trading on Tuesday. This drop comes after Morgan Stanley reduced their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $91.00. Currently, Morgan Stanley holds an equal weight rating on Micron's shares. During trading, the stock saw a low of $88.73 before it concluded at $89.63. A total of approximately 11,800,899 shares changed hands on this day, marking a significant decline of 54% from the average daily trading volume of 25,701,277 shares. At the close of the previous trading session, the stock was valued at $91.11.

Micron Technology has been under scrutiny from various financial analysts recently. In a research note dated December 18th, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target from $140.00 to $120.00 and maintained an 'outperform' rating on the stock. On December 19th, TD Cowen adjusted their price target from $135.00 to $125.00 while also giving it a 'buy' rating. Similarly, Barclays reduced its price objective for Micron Technology shares from $145.00 to $110.00, labeling it as 'overweight'. JPMorgan Chase & Co. likewise decreased their target from $180.00 to $145.00 and retained an 'overweight' rating. Additionally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target from $140.00 to $120.00 also with a 'buy' rating.

Currently, among analysts, one has issued a sell rating for the stock, three analysts have given it a hold rating, and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology maintains an average rating of 'Moderate Buy' and has an average price target set at $134.96.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In related news, April S. Arnzen, an executive vice president at Micron Technology, sold 4,890 shares of the company's stock in a transaction executed on December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.21, totaling approximately $416,676.90. After this transaction, Arnzen retains ownership of 181,223 shares in the company, with a total value of around $15,442,011.83. This sale represented a 2.63% decline in the executive’s ownership of the stock. Further details of the sale have been disclosed in a document filed with the SEC.

Institutional Investment Trends

Recent trends show that institutional investors and hedge funds have either been increasing or decreasing their positions in Micron Technology. Highline Wealth Partners LLC initiated a new position during the third quarter, worth about $26,000, while Davis Capital Management also acquired a new stake valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC significantly increased its stake by 1,096.3%, now holding 323 shares worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings by 261.1%, amounting to 325 shares worth $34,000 after acquiring 235 additional shares. Stone House Investment Management increased its stake by 602.2%, now owning 323 shares valued at $34,000 following the purchase of 277 more shares. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.84% of Micron Technology's shares.

Company Overview and Earnings Report

Micron Technology has a market capitalization of $99.21 billion, with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 25.66 and a beta of 1.18. The company's financial structure features a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 1.75 alongside a current ratio of 2.72. Its recent quarterly earnings report released on December 18th indicated earnings of $1.79 per share, surpassing the expected consensus of $1.60 by $0.19. Additionally, the company's revenue for the quarter was reported at $8.71 billion, aligning with analysts' expectations. Compared to the same quarter the previous year, Micron's revenue showed an impressive increase of 84.3%, with a reported net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. Analysts predict that Micron Technology is likely to post earnings of $6.29 per share for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

In other news, Micron recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was disbursed on January 15th. Investors on record as of December 30th received a dividend of $0.115 per share, with the ex-dividend date also set for December 30th. This equates to an annualized dividend of $0.46 and a yield of 0.52%. The company's dividend payout ratio stands at 13.26%.

About Micron Technology

Micron Technology, Inc. is involved in the design, development, manufacturing, and sale of memory and storage products globally. The company operates through four main segments: Compute and Networking Business Unit, Mobile Business Unit, Embedded Business Unit, and Storage Business Unit. Its product offerings include dynamic random access memory (DRAM) for rapid data retrieval, non-volatile storage devices, and high-speed semiconductor memory under the Micron and Crucial brands.

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