Micron Rises on Earnings Beat

December 21, 2016 by Chris Lange

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) reported fiscal first-quarter financial results after markets closed on Wednesday. The company posted $0.32 in earnings per share (EPS) and $3.97 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters called for $0.28 in EPS and $3.95 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $0.29 in EPS and $3.35 billion in revenue.

The increase in the company’s revenues of 23% for this quarter compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 was due primarily to 18% and 26% increases in DRAM and trade NAND sales volumes, respectively, and a 5% increase in DRAM average selling prices.

The company’s overall consolidated gross margin of 25% for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 was 7 percentage points higher compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 primarily due to manufacturing cost reductions and increases in DRAM average selling prices.

On the books, cash and short-term investments totaled $4.17 billion at the end of the quarter, versus $4.40 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year.

Mark Durcan, Micron CEO, commented:

Positive market momentum, driven by favorable demand trends and limited industry supply, produced solid results for our first quarter. We continue to make significant progress on our key technology and product initiatives, and we are pleased to have closed the Inotera acquisition on December 6, 2016, which we expect to further improve Micron’s strategic position and financial results.

Shares of Micron closed Wednesday at $20.58, with a consensus analyst price target of $22.17 and a 52-week trading range of $9.31 to $21.00. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was initially up 8.4% at $22.30 in the after-hours trading session.

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