MU Stock Brushes Off Price Target Cuts After Earnings

Micron posted third-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations

Semiconductor specialist Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is brushing off this morning's broad-market selloff after stepping into the earnings confessional. The equity is up 4.7% at $44.50 in pre-market trading after the firm posted fiscal-second quarter profits of 45 cents per share, and $4.80 billion in revenue, exceeding analysts' estimates. The chip maker added that the shift to work-from-home in the face of the global coronavirus pandemic is driving demand for its notebooks and data center services.

Piper Sandler chimed in, saying that while it expects the company to benefit from this increase in demand, it's remaining cautious, as COVID-19 continues to unsettle markets worldwide. The research firm slashed its price target to $48 from $56, joined by no less than eight other analysts -- the lowest coming from Citigroup all the way down to $35.

Sentiment has been generally optimistic, however. Coming into today, 13 members of the brokerage bunch called MU a "buy" or better, compared to just four calling the chip stock a "hold" or worse. Plus, the consensus 12-month price target sat at $62.98 -- a 43% premium to last night's close.

The options pits have maintained a sunny outlook, too. Micron sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.52 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits in the 91st percentile of its annual range, suggesting long calls are being picked up at a much quicker-than-usual clip.

Like the rest of the market, MU has spent the better part of the year in a landslide. The stock hit a one-year bottom $31.13 last week, but has since bounced off the area, up 42.9% since then. Today, the security is pushing back up against its 20-day moving average, which captured yesterday's rally attempt.