What Analysts Have to Say About Micron After Earnings

Despite beating on the bottom line, the Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) results were not enough to sway investor sentiment.

Published April 3, 2016, 10:05am ET · 2 min read

© courtesy of Micron Technology Inc.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) reported its fiscal second-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Wednesday. Despite beating on the bottom line, the results were not enough to sway investor sentiment. Analysts took it upon themselves to reinforce this idea through a series of price target cuts.

The company posted a net loss of $0.05 per share on $2.93 billion in revenue. That compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of a net loss of $0.08 per share and revenue of $3.05 billion. In the same period of last year, Micron reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.81 on $4.17 billion in revenue.

In the second quarter, revenues were lower compared to last year, primarily due to a rough 10% declines in both DRAM average selling prices and sales volume. Non-volatile trade revenues in this quarter declined 6%, compared to the same period last year, as a result of a 15% decline in average selling prices partially offset by an increase in sales volume.

During this quarter cash flows from operations were $763 million. On the books, the company has cash and short-term investments totaling $4.04 billion at the end of the quarter, versus $3.64 at the end of the fiscal first quarter.
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Micron CEO Mark Durcan commented on earnings:

Although we continue to navigate challenging market conditions, we are on track with deploying our advanced DRAM and NAND technologies and improving our cost structure. As a result, we expect to significantly improve our competitive position as we move through the second half of 2016 and beyond.

A few analysts weighed in on Micron after the report:

  • Baird has a Neutral rating and lowered its price target to $12 from $13.
  • Barclays has an Overweight rating and lowered its price target to $14 from $15.
  • Bernstein downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered its target to $10 from $14.
  • Cowen has an Outperform rating and lowered its price target from $20 to $13.
  • Evercore ISI has a Buy rating and lowered its price target to $16 from $21.
  • Goldman Sachs lowered its price target to $10 from $11.
  • Macquarie lowered its price target from $14 to $12.
  • Pacific Crest has an Overweight rating and lowered its price target to $13 from $18.
  • Stifel has a Buy rating and lowered its price target to $16 from $19.
  • Topeka Capital has a Buy rating and lowered its price target from $16 to $13.

Shares of Micron closed trading at $11.03 on Friday. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $13.63 and a 52-week trading range of $9.31 to $29.78.

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Chris Lange

Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.

His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.

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