MU Stock Pops on Trump Tariff Announcement

The semiconductor concern was higher after President Trump announced a delay in tariff hikes

The shares of Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) are up 2.2% at $43.51 in early trading, popping on news that President Donald Trump would push back the March 1 deadline for new tariffs on Chinese goods. The semiconductor concern, which relies on China for a large portion of its revenue, is now at its highest levels since early October.

MU stock is enjoying a rebound off its 16-month low of $28.39 on Dec. 26, and is now up 34.2% year-to-date. During the past two weeks, it had been neatly contained by its $40 area and 160-day moving average, but today's pop has Micron stock pacing to finish north of these levels.

The majority of analysts have been optimistic on the security, with 14 "strong buy" ratings on the table. However, nine analysts have doled out a tepid "hold" rating and one has maintained a "strong sell." Despite the holdouts, the consensus 12-month target price of $47 represents an area not seen by the stock since mid-September, and sits at a 7.2% premium to its current perch.

Options traders have been more bearish than usual. Currently, MU sports a 10-day put/call ratio of 1.08 on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits in the 96th percentile of its annual range, meaning long puts have outnumbered calls at a quicker than usual clip in the past two weeks.