Micron stock slips as Citi cuts estimates ahead of Q2 earnings
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Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) shares slipped fractionally in premarket trading on Wednesday as Citi lowered its estimates on the memory chip maker ahead of its fiscal second-quarter results, slated to be released on March 28.
Analyst Christopher Danely, who reiterated the firm's buy rating on Micron (MU), lowered his fiscal 2023 revenue and earnings per share estimates to $14.9B and a loss of $3.02 per share, down from a previous view of $16.1B and a loss of $2.22 per share, due in part to a large write-down of inventory.
He also lowered his estimates for fiscal 2024 to $19B in revenue and earnings of $2.61 per share, down from prior views of $21B and $3.32, respectively. 
"While we expect another lowering of estimates, our reasons to be positive on MU remain unchanged â we believe capex and utilization cuts by Micron and Hynix should create a bottom to the DRAM market over the next six months, and MU is trading close to a trough valuation," Danely wrote in an investor note.
Concerning the write-down, Danely said he expects it to be roughly $1B worth of inventory, making it easier for Micron (MU) to sell it off. 
Danely also expects negative gross margins for the first time since the Great Financial Crisis in 2008, adding the last time this happened, Micron's (MU) stock bottomed.
Analysts expect the company to lose 80 cents per share on $3.72B in revenue for the upcoming quarter.
Last week, Danely said Micron (MU) was among the "least popular" chip stocks to own for investors.