Micron Earnings Showdown: Tactical ETF Plays for Traders Targeting Earnings-Report Volatility

This is sponsored content.  Barchart is not endorsing the websites or products set forth below.

Micron Technology (MU) is set to report Q3 fiscal 2025 earnings on June 25th after market close. The memory chip manufacturer continues working through memory market recovery amid mixed demand signals from AI growth and legacy computing segments. Despite AI-driven revenue increases in recent quarters, MU shares remain 33% below last summer's all-time highs, near $157.

Wall Street maintains a generally bullish outlook on the stock, with UBS recently raising its price target from $92 to $120, citing improving memory fundamentals. The upcoming earnings report arrives as memory pricing shows signs of stabilization and AI demand provides support for high-end products. Traders eyeing MU's historically volatile post-earnings moves can use Direxion's Single Stock Daily Leveraged & Inverse ETFs as tactical trading tools.

Q3 Fiscal 2025 Earnings Expectations

Analysts expect Micron to report $1.41 per share in earnings, representing a remarkable 228% increase from the $0.43 EPS posted in the same quarter last year. This dramatic improvement reflects the memory industry's recovery from a severe cyclical downturn that bottomed out in 2023.

Revenue projections center around continued sequential growth as memory demand stabilizes. Micron's fiscal Q2 results showed $1.56 in EPS, versus the expected $1.43, with $8.05 billion in revenue, beating the consensus of $7.93 billion. 

Recent Trading Activity and Analyst Views

MU stock carries a 52-week range from $61.54 to $157.54, as of June 20, 2025, the dramatic swings common in cyclical semiconductor names.

Analyst sentiment remains constructive despite the stock's pullback from peaks. Of 30 analysts covering MU, 20 rate it a "strong buy," 4 a "moderate buy," 4 “hold”, and only 2 maintain "strong sell" ratings. The average price target of $125.27 suggests roughly 16.5% upside from current levels, with targets ranging from Wells Fargo's cautious stance to Rosenblatt's aggressive $200 projection.

Recent insider activity shows some selling, with EVP April Arnzen disposing of 15,000 shares at $96.18 in March. However, institutional ownership remains strong at over 80%, indicating continued confidence from large fund managers.

Key Focus Areas for Q3 Report

Important elements will drive investor reaction to Micron's upcoming earnings:

1. Memory Pricing Recovery: Whether Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) and NAND* pricing continues improving from cyclical lows
2. AI Memory Progress: High-bandwidth memory (HBM) shipment volumes and customer design wins
3. Production Discipline: Working capital efficiency through the cycle upturn
4. Capital Investment Plans: Timing for next-generation manufacturing capacity
5. End Market Demand: Mix between recovering PC/mobile markets versus data center growth

Management commentary on second-half demand visibility will be important given memory markets' volatile history.

Memory Industry Recovery Dynamics

Micron operates in the volatile memory semiconductor space, where pricing swings can dramatically affect profitability. The company has been working through what many consider one of the worst memory downturns in recent history, with pricing hitting multi-year lows in 2023.

Recent quarters show gradual improvement in both DRAM and NAND flash pricing, supported by disciplined industry capacity management and AI-related demand growth. PC and smartphone markets remain soft, but data center requirements continue growing.

The AI boom has created opportunities in high-bandwidth memory, where Micron competes with SK Hynix and Samsung for premium contracts. HBM products carry higher margins than commodity memory and represent a key profitability driver.

Leveraged ETFs for Micron Earnings Trading

Memory stocks typically see large price moves following earnings reports due to cyclical sensitivity. Direxion's Single Stock Daily Leveraged & Inverse ETFs, launched October 2024, provides ways to trade MU's price swings without margin requirements or short-selling* constraints.

These products use derivatives to deliver precise daily exposure, particularly effective for volatile earnings events in cyclical sectors.

Bullish Strategy: MUU

Direxion Daily MU Bull 2X Shares (MUU) allows traders to double exposure to Micron’s daily movements. MUU seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 200% of the performance of MU.

• Targets 200% of MU's daily performance, before fees and expenses
  • When Micron rises 1%, MUU aims for a 2% gain (before fees)
  • When Micron falls 1%, MUU typically drops 2% (before fees)
• Suited for traders expecting continued memory pricing recovery or positive guidance
• Memory stocks have frequently posted significant moves after quarterly reports
• Built for active traders who monitor positions regularly

Bearish Strategy: MUD

Direxion Daily MU Bear 1X Shares (MUD) provides inverse exposure to Micron without shorting. This feature helps retirement account traders who face IRA and 401(k) short-selling restrictions. MUD seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of the performance of MU.

• Delivers inverse (-1x) daily performance compared to MU
  • When Micron drops 1%, MUD aims for a 1% gain (before fees)
  • When Micron gains 1%, MUD typically falls 1% (before fees)
• Valuable for traders concerned about memory cycle sustainability or disappointing outlook
• Gives retirement account holders a way to bet against cyclical memory trends
• Works well as a hedge for existing semiconductor positions

Both MUU and MUD reset daily and work best as short-term trading vehicles, not long-term investments. These products require active management and are designed for traders who understand the effects of leverage and the importance of daily rebalancing.

*Short-selling is a trading strategy where investors borrow shares and sell them, hoping the stock price will fall.

*NAND memory refers to a type of non-volatile flash memory where data is stored in a chain of memory cells connected in a NAND gate configuration. It retains data even when the power is turned off, making it widely used in modern digital devices for persistent storage.

Investing in the funds involves a high degree of risk. Unlike traditional ETFs, or even other leveraged and/or inverse ETFs, these leveraged and/or inverse single-stock ETFs track the price of a single stock rather than an index, eliminating the benefits of diversification. Leveraged and inverse ETFs pursue daily leveraged investment objectives, which means they are riskier than alternatives which do not use leverage. They seek daily goals and should not be expected to track the underlying stock’s performance over periods longer than one day. They are not suitable for all investors and should be utilized only by investors who understand leverage risk and who actively manage their investments. The Funds will lose money if the underlying stock’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Bull Fund will lose money even if the underlying stock’s performance increases, and the Bear Fund will lose money even if the underlying stock’s performance decreases, over a period longer than a single day. Investing in the Funds is not equivalent to investing directly in MU.

An investor should carefully consider a Fund’s investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses before investing.  A Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Direxion Shares.  To obtain a Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus call 866-476-7523 or visit our website at direxion.com.  A Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Direxion Shares Risks – An investment in a Fund involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Each Fund is non-diversified and includes risks associated with a Fund concentrating its investments in a particular security, industry, sector, or geographic region which can result in increased volatility. A Fund’s investments in derivatives such as futures contracts and swaps may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other investments, including imperfect correlations with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility and lack of availability. As a result, the value of an investment in a Fund may change quickly and without warning.

Leverage Risk – The Bull Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. A total loss may occur in a single day. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund’s correlation with MU and may increase the volatility of the Bull Fund.

Daily Correlation Risk – A number of factors may affect the Bull Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with MU and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. The Bull Fund’s exposure to MU is impacted by MU’s movement. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Bull Fund will be perfectly exposed to MU at the end of each day. The possibility of the Bull Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to MU increases on days when MU is volatile near the close of the trading day.

Daily Inverse Correlation Risk – A number of factors may affect the Bear Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of inverse correlation with MU and therefore achieve its daily inverse investment objective. The Bear Fund’s exposure to MU is impacted by MU’s movement. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Bear Fund will be perfectly exposed to MU at the end of each day. The possibility of the Bear Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to MU increases on days when MU is volatile near the close of the trading day.

Micron Technology, Inc. – MU faces risks associated with the highly competitive nature of the semiconductor industry; economic and market uncertainty; reductions in demand for its products; potential concentration of revenues in a few large clients as among other risks.

Semiconductor Industry Risk – Semiconductor companies may face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel and may face risks related to the availability of materials.

Technology Sector Risk — The market prices of technology-related securities tend to exhibit a greater degree of market risk and sharp price fluctuations than other types of securities.

Additional risks of each Fund include Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk, Derivatives Risk, Counterparty Risk, Rebalancing Risk, Intra-Day Investment Risk, Industry Concentration Risk, Market Risk, Indirect Investment Risk, and Cash Transaction Risk. Additionally, for the Direxion Daily MU Bear 1X Shares, Shorting or Inverse Risk.  Please see the summary and full prospectuses for a more complete description of these and other risks of a Fund.

Distributor: ALPS Distributors, Inc.

The above is sponsored content. Barchart was paid up to one hundred sixty two thousand dollars for placement and promotion of the content on this site and other forms of public distribution covering the period of January - June 2025.  For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.