It was not that long ago when analysts were upgrading semiconductor stocks left and right with higher and higher price targets. Nothing lasts forever. Since the start of August, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has seen a steady downward trajectory in its consensus analyst price target. And in September, the analyst price target cuts are almost becoming a daily event.
Most analysts have not yet resorted to official rating downgrades, but if the price weakness persists and if history holds true, then the downgrades will come. The one firm that did formally downgrade Micron was Exane BNP Paribas on September 12 — in a double-downgrade to Underperform from Outperform, and they slashed their price target down to $67 from $140 in that call.
As a reminder, no single analyst report should ever be used as the sole basis for buying or selling a stock. The same holds true even for multiple analyst calls on the same stock or topic. Investors are responsible for their own actions and all decisions to buy or sell any stock should be made with a financial advisor.
Here are the calls that have maintained the formal ratings, but these are the other most price target cuts which have been seen:
- 9/17 UBS (Buy) target to $135 from $153
- 9/17 Citigroup (Buy) target to 150 from $175
- 9/16 Morgan Stanley (Equal Weight) target to 100 from $140
- 9/12 Raymond James (Outperform) target to $125 from $160
- 8/26 Needham & Co. (Buy) target to $140 from $150
- 8/22 Susquehanna (Positive) target to $175 from $185
- 8/06 KeyBanc Capital Markets (Overweight) target to $145 from $165
Micron’s stock was last seen trading at $88.50, with a 52-week trading range of $63.83 to $157.54. The consensus analyst price target of $164.28 listed at Finviz is likely to come down in the coming days as the analyst prices get adjusted into the stock. MarketBeat shows the consensus analyst price target at $149.12 as of now, although that is still including a high price target of $225 in the mix.
