Valued at a market cap of $86.9 billion, Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells memory and storage products, including Dynamic Random Access Memory, NAND flash memory, NOR Flash, 3D XPoint memory and other technologies. The Boise, Idaho-based company’s solutions are used in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking and mobile products.

This semiconductors company has lagged behind the broader market over the past 52 weeks. Shares of MU have declined 29.1% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has surged 11.7%. Moreover, on a YTD basis, the stock is down 7.6%, compared to SPX’s 4.7% loss. 

Narrowing the focus, MU has underperformed the iShares Semiconductor ETF’s (SOXX) 11.2% fall over the past 52 weeks. However, it has outpaced SOXX’s 14.8% downtick on a YTD basis. 

On Mar. 20, MU reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings results, with its revenue of $8.1 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.56, both handily surpassing Wall Street’s estimates. Moreover, compared to the same quarter last year, its revenue grew 38.3%, and adjusted EPS surged by an impressive 271.4%, driven by a sharp increase in gross margins and operating income. Despite this strong performance, MU’s shares fell 8% in the following trading session. The decline was likely due to concerns over sequential declines in both revenue and profits, rising inventory levels, and weakness in the automotive and mobile segments. Additionally, NAND oversupply and pricing pressures raised fears about future profitability, which may have further dampened investor sentiment.

For the current fiscal year, ending in August, analysts expect MU’s EPS to grow by a staggering 970.7% year over year to $6.21. The company’s earnings surprise history is promising. It exceeded the consensus estimates in each of the last four quarters. 

Among the 30 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy” which is based on 21 “Strong Buy,” three “Moderate Buy,” four “Hold,” and two “Strong Sell” ratings. 

This configuration is less bullish than a month ago, with 23 analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy” rating, and one advises a “Strong Sell.” 

On Apr. 30, C J Muse from Cantor Fitzgerald maintained a “Buy” rating on MU and lowered its price target to $130, which indicates a 67.2% potential upside from the current levels. 

The mean price target of $125.73 represents a 61.7% upside from MU’s current price levels, while the Street-high price target of $172 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 121.2%.