Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 44.25% from the company’s current price.

MU has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America cut Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $148.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.26.

Micron Technology Stock Up 3.5 %

MU stock opened at $90.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.53 and a beta of 1.16. Micron Technology has a 12 month low of $79.15 and a 12 month high of $157.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Micron Technology will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $552,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,348,790. This trade represents a 3.47 % 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. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,001,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,568 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Micron Technology by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 37,631,860 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,902,800,000 after buying an additional 206,499 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,723,545 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,451,987,000 after acquiring an additional 892,607 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Micron Technology by 21.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,326,224 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,174,643,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022,180 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Micron Technology by 30.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,564,198 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,109,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.