Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) stock rose more than 3% in Tuesday’s premarket trading as investors returned to large-cap semiconductor stocks despite mixed broader market futures. Nasdaq futures gained 0.43%, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.06%.
The advance appeared to reflect renewed buying interest after Micron pulled back from its June high. The stock remains in a broader long-term uptrend, although it has yet to regain recent peak levels.
Technical Outlook
Micron remains in a long-term uptrend. The stock has gained nearly 690% over the past 12 months and trades about 106% above its 200-day simple moving average of $468.34. However, it remains 8.2% below its 20-day SMA of $1,050.62, suggesting the recent pullback is still unfolding.
The relative strength index stands at 46.58, indicating neutral momentum. That suggests the stock is neither overbought nor oversold.
The moving averages continue to support the bullish trend. The 20-day SMA remains above the 50-day SMA, while the 50-day SMA stays above the 200-day SMA. Even so, Micron still trades 6.3% above its 50-day SMA of $907.42, meaning that level could act as support if selling pressure returns.
After forming a swing low in April, the stock rallied to a new 52-week high in June before retreating. Investors will watch whether the current rebound can reclaim those highs.
Key resistance sits near $1,089.50, while support is around $854.50.
Earnings And Analyst Outlook
Micron is one of the world’s largest memory chipmakers. The company generates most of its revenue from dynamic random access memory (DRAM) products and also produces NAND flash memory.
Its chips are used in data centers, smartphones, consumer electronics, automotive systems and industrial applications. Because Micron is vertically integrated, changes in memory pricing and supply conditions can significantly affect its profitability.
The memory maker is expected to report quarterly earnings on Sept. 22, although the date has not been confirmed.
Wall Street expects earnings per share of $31.24, up from $3.03 a year earlier. Revenue is projected to reach $50.72 billion, compared with $11.31 billion in the prior-year quarter.
The stock trades at about 21.2 times earnings. Analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with an average price forecast of $1,542.05. Recent analyst actions include:
- Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price forecast to $2,000 on June 29 while maintaining an Overweight rating.
- Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its Overweight rating and $1,500 price forecast on June 25.
- Barclays raised its price forecast to $2,000 on June 25 while reiterating its Overweight rating.
Benzinga Edge Ratings
Benzinga Edge assigns Micron a Momentum score of 99.68, a Quality score of 97.81 and a Growth score of 84.68, all in the bullish range. Its Value score of 30.98 is neutral.
The ratings suggest momentum, growth and fundamentals remain supportive. However, traders are likely to watch whether the stock can break above resistance near $1,089.50 while holding support around $854.50.
ETF Exposure
Micron is a major holding in several semiconductor-focused exchange-traded funds, including:
- iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX): 8.03% weighting
- Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF (NYSE:SPMO): 8.39% weighting
- Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXQ): 9.78% weighting
Because of its sizable weight in these funds, ETF inflows and outflows can influence demand for Micron shares.
Price Action
MU Stock Price Activity: Micron Technology shares were up 3.22% at $967.20 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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