Benzinga's PreMarket Prep airs every morning from 8-9 a.m. ET. During that fast-paced, highly informative hour, traders and investors tune in to get the major news of the day, the catalysts behind those moves and the corresponding price action for the upcoming session.
On any given day, the show will cover at least 20 stocks determined by co-hosts Joel Elconin and Dennis Dick along with producer Spencer Israel.
It's not an easy job being a Wall Street analyst, and making a ratings change before an earnings report is a bold, respectable move.
This scenario applies to Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), which is the PreMarket Prep Stock of the Day following its third-quarter report.
Micron's 6-Day Winning Streak Ends: Micron made its all-time high in April at $96.96. It has been in the retreat mode ever since and so far, the low of the move was made on June 21 ($75.71).
Since making that low, it was higher in five of six sessions, with the string being broken Tuesday with a mild retreat ($83.38-$82.88).
Micron's Wednesday Upgrade, Price Action: Before the open on Wednesday, BMO Capital changed its rating on the issue. The firm upgraded Micron from Market Perform to Outperform and raised the price target from $90 to $110.
That news, along with a strong market, boosted the shares to new rebound high ($85.40), its highest level since June 1, when it peaked at $85.74. It retreated to end the session Wednesday at $84.98, for just over a $2 gain.
Micron's Q3 Beat-And-Raise: After the close on Wednesday, the company announced a third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.88, which beat a $1.71 estimate, along with a sales beat of $7.42 billion vs. a $7.23-billion estimate.
The company raised its fourth-quarter EPS guidance to a range of $2.20-$2.40 vs. a $2.18 estimate and, for sales, $8 billion to $8.4 billion against a $7.86-billion Street estimate.
Micron's Report Not Good Enough: Unfortunately for Micron shareholders, concerns over the supply shortage ending soon than expected and a corresponding decline in prices has dominated the price action in the issue.
The relative weakness in the technology sector in Thursday’s session didn't help matters.
Micron Price Action: The barrage of selling from the after-hours and premarket carried over into Thursday's regular session.
After a much lower open ($82.24 vs. $84.98) and no bounce at all, investors are being forced to sell into a falling market.
The stock ultimately lost 5.73% Thursday, closing at $80.11.
Micron Moving Forward: This is not the price action the BMO analyst was expecting after a beat on both ends and raised guidance, but the firm's call is not for one quarter, but more into the future.
In fact, some investors who want to own Micron may use the retreat as a “buy the dip” opportunity.
From a technical point of view as of 2 p.m., the issue had matched its daily low from June 24 ($79.91) and was attempting to return to the $80 handle.
If the decline continues, the next daily lows come in at its June 23 low ($78.07), After that it drops another dollar to its June 22 low ($77.05) and the low of the move ($75.71) that was flanked on the day prior at $76.13.
The full discussion on the issue from Thursday’s show can be found here:
Photo: courtesy of Micron.
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