5 Manufacturing Stocks at Risk as Consumer Spending, Orders Decline

3. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 69

On August 9, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) reported that demand for its DRAM and NAND has declined since its earnings call on June 30, 2022. The company expects a challenging market environment in the second half of 2022 and into 2023 and said that it now expects its fiscal fourth quarter 2022 revenue to come below the low end of its guidance range, which as of June 30, sits at between $6.8 billion and $7.23 billion.

Reuters reported that Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) announced a $40 billion investment in memory chip manufacturing in the United States, but also warned of decreased capital expenditure in fiscal 2023 from 2022. According to Gartner, global PC shipments are expected to fall by 9.5% in 2022. As demand for electronic devices weakens, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) runs the risk of experiencing losses as consumer spending and orders decline.

Wall Street has turned bearish on Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU). On August 9, Raymond James analyst Melissa Fairbanks downgraded Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) to Outperform from Strong Buy and slashed her price target to $65  from $72.  This August, Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar reiterated his $50 price target and Underweight rating on Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU).

At the end of Q2 2022, 69 hedge funds were long Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) and held stakes worth $2.16 billion. This is compared to 78 hedge funds in Q1 2022, with stakes worth $3.42 billion. The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is negative.

As of June 30, Matrix Capital Management owns 4 million shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) and is the leading shareholder in the company. The investment covers 5.01% of Matrix Capital Management’s 13F portfolio.

Like Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is taking a beating in 2022 and, as of August 19, has lost 36.80% year to date.