Earnings Previews: Micron, CarMax

Photo of Paul Ausick
By Paul Ausick Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Earnings Previews: Micron, CarMax

© Micron Technology Inc.

Tuesday afternoon’s and Wednesday morning’s noteworthy earnings reports included four widely followed stocks–security software provider BlackBerry, athletic apparel retailer Lululemon, online pet supply retailer Chewy, and drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Wednesday afternoon’s and Thursday morning’s noteworthy earnings reports include memory chip maker and the country’s largest used car retailer.

[nativounit]

Micron

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU | MU Price Prediction) is scheduled to report quarterly results after markets close Wednesday. The worldwide shortage of semiconductors is expected to give Micron a bottom-line boost, not only in the company’s second fiscal quarter but in the current quarter and maybe even the next one. Less than a month ago, the consensus estimate for Micron’s earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter was $0.77, a jump of more than 70% compared with the second quarter of last year.

Micron stock added 40% to its share price last year and the stock jumped another 26% since the beginning of the year before settling recently with a gain of around 15% for the year to date. Analysts have lifted their EPS estimate for the second quarter to $0.95 on sales of $6.23 billion (roughly the midpoint of Micron’s updated guidance from earlier this month). That’s a year-over-year increase of nearly 30% in revenue and 111% in EPS. For the full fiscal year ending in August, the forecast calls for EPS of $4.78 on revenue of $26.43 billion.

The consensus price target on the stock is $110.31 and shares traded at around $86.50 Tuesday morning, implying upside potential of more than 27%. At the high target of $150, the potential upside to the current price level is 73%.

Shares trade at 18x expected 2021 EPS and about 9x estimated 2022 and 2023 earnings. Over the past 12 months, Micron has nearly doubled in value while the tech sector is up by about two-thirds. The stock’s 52-week range is $39.33 to $95.75. Micron does not pay a dividend and, on average, daily share volume is more than 20 million.

CarMax

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) is scheduled to report quarterly results before markets open Thursday morning. Used car sales have been soaring and prices for used cars have been soaring right in step. According to industry analysts at Edmunds.com, used car prices have increased by 14% year over year. CarMax has a couple of issues, however. Once is keeping enough cars in stock to meet the demand. The other is competing against on-line used car retailers like Carvana that deliver. Carvana’s sales have increased by 37% during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The stock is rated as a Strong Buy by 11 of 17 analysts with 3 calling the stock a Buy. One rates the stock a Hold and two rate the stock a Sell. The consensus price target on the stock is about $134.80 and shares recently traded at around $126.60, implying upside potential of about 6.5%. At the high target of $165, the potential upside is 30%.

Analysts expect the company to report fiscal 2021 fourth-quarter EPS of $1.28 compared to a total of $1.30 a year ago. Sales are pegged at $5.16 billion, up 4% year over year. For the full 2021 fiscal year, analysts are looking for EPS of $4.50, down from $5.33 (down 15.6%), on sales of $18.94 billion (down 6.8% year over year).

Shares traded at about 30x expected 2021 EPS, 24x expected 2022 earnings, and 22x expected 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.06 to $136.54. The high was posted earlier Tuesday morning. CarMax does not pay a dividend.

[wallst_email_signup]

Photo of Paul Ausick
About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618