The bear note came in the wake of Seagate Technology's slashed production
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is down 2.6% at $62.02 at last check, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the equity to "underweight" from "equal-weight." This bear note came in the wake of Seagate Technology's (STX) fourth-quarter earnings miss and plans to cut production, as customer orders lag due to macroeconomic uncertainties and component shortages.
Analysts were optimistic towards Micron Technology stock coming into today, with 18 of the 23 in coverage carrying a "buy" or better rating. Plus, the 12-month consensus target price of $78.09 is a 27.2% premium to current levels, leaving MU exposed to price-target cuts and/or additional downgrades.
Meanwhile, short-term options traders already lean bearish. This is per the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.19, which stands higher than 84% of readings from the past 12 months, suggesting these traders have rarely been more put-biased.
Micron Technology stock was bouncing off a July 1, nearly two-year low of $51.40 prior to today's bear gap. The descending 50-day moving average, which has behaved mostly as resistance since March, capped yesterday's rally, though. Year-to-date, MU is now down 31.7%