Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $225.52, but opened at $256.53. Micron Technology shares last traded at $251.7090, with a volume of 20,847,617 shares.

The semiconductor manufacturer reported $4.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $1.01. Micron Technology had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The firm had revenue of $13.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 56.7% on a year-over-year basis. Micron Technology has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 8.220-8.620 EPS.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is 6.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MU shares. UBS Group reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Micron Technology from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. CLSA started coverage on Micron Technology in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $200.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Micron Technology news, CFO Mark J. Murphy sold 126,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.31, for a total value of $28,389,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 219,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,499,029.83. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 3,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.39, for a total transaction of $873,578.77. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 396,578 shares in the company, valued at $92,557,339.42. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 383,650 shares of company stock worth $81,602,339 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 225.0% in the second quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Micron Technology in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 13,250.0% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 267 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Micron Technology Stock Up 11.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $225.54 and a 200-day moving average of $162.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54.

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.