Micron (MU) Stock Falls After Topping Q4 Estimates but Misses on Guidance, Analysts Lower Numbers and PTs
Shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) are down 3.5% in pre-open Wednesday after the company reported worse-than-expected guidance.
MU reported Q4 EPS of $2.42 to top the analyst estimate of $2.32. Revenue for the quarter came in at $8.27 billion versus the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion.
“Micron’s outstanding fourth quarter execution capped a year of several key milestones. In fiscal 2021, we established DRAM and NAND technology leadership, drove record revenues across multiple markets, and initiated a quarterly dividend,” said Micron Technology President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.
For the current quarter, Micron projects Q1 EPS of between $2.00 and $2.30 to miss on the consensus of $2.61. The company is looking for Q1 revenue in the range of $7.85 and $7.45 billion, versus the consensus of $8.63 billion.
“The demand outlook for 2022 is strong, and Micron is delivering innovative solutions to our customers, fueling our long-term growth,” Mehrotra added.
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri slashed the price target to $90.00 per share from the prior $95.00.
Arcuri noted the FQ4 quarter delivered expectations reset and solid forward commentary that “argues for another strong year in 2022 and provides a favorable “up and to the right” trajectory for annual revenue and EPS.”
Hence, Arcuri reiterated a Buy rating as a”multi-year secular bull view on industry fundamentals and stock re-rating potential as a result.”
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh also lowered estimates and slashed the price target to $90.00 per share from the prior $97.00 on the Buy-rated stock.
“We believe MU stock is reflecting most of the supply chain constraints and pockets of inventory while demand remains strong. We lower our PT to $90 (prior $97), ~9.6x our F22E EPS which we believe is conservative versus F22E EPS growth of 55% y/y and SOX at ~18x. Despite near-term pricing risks, we believe MU remains well-positioned longer term with 176L 3D-NAND and 1-alpha DRAM ramps driving solid cost declines, and 5G/Server/DC DRAM/NAND content growth,” Rakesh said in a note sent to clients.
Shares of Micron are trading 1.3% in the red YTD.
