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To: IceShark who wrote (83854)	3/22/2001 1:35:55 AM
From: chic_hearne	Respond to of 436258

Not sure if you pos FREAKS have already seen this or not. -ggg- Micron Technology (MU) Ahead of Earnings 3/20/2001 3:36:54 PM Micron Technology (MU – 40.85), developer and manufacturer of semiconductor memory products and personal computer (PC) systems, is scheduled to report earnings tomorrow during market hours. The most recent earnings report from the company, which came out in December, missed analysts' estimates by two cents per share. But this quarter's earnings are expected to be miniscule in comparison, ranging from one to two cents per share, compared to the 58-cent profit last quarter. That tells you something about the slowdown in personal computers and semiconductors. MU also has a 61-percent subsidiary, Micron Electronics (MUEI – 3-7/16), that makes personal computers. MUEI will report earnings as well, with expectations for another two cents of profit. Despite its negative fundamentals, MU has outperformed the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX – 551.69) of late (see the chart below). MU has been bouncing along the bottom of its chart since October and has actually moved up to a somewhat higher level the past two months. The company may have felt the impact of our slowing economy sooner than some of its technology peers. In theory, this could also position it to make a comeback earlier than some others. That may be the hope that has caused the shares to move up recently. MU has also historically been known to trade in tandem with DRAM pricing, which is expected to stabilize soon. It has been suggested that this could help MU's share price. MU has been able to hold above its 20-day moving average for the past two weeks, and for the most part, its rising 10-day trendline as well (see the chart below). It is not an easy road back for an issue that has dropped this far down, however. Just in the near-term there is resistance in the area of 46.75 and then 48-49. Most recently, MU has not been able to make it past 45.49. Looking at a longer-term perspective on MU's weekly chart, it is apparent there is a longstanding positive trendline intact, that has huge bumps due to the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry (see the chart below). Short interest for MU was up 18 percent for the most recent reporting period (mid-January to mid-February). But this was bouncing up from a very low level and still leaves a low short interest ratio (SIR) of 1.87. This means that all MU shorts could be covered in less than two days of trading at MU's average daily volume, not enough to expect any type of support from a short-covering rally. Open interest on MU is very interesting. There is a huge buildup of calls just overhead in the front-month series that could prove an insurmountable barrier for a stock that is just beginning to attempt to build the right side of a base (see the chart below). Over 15,000 calls reside open at the 45 strike, with over 20,000 at the 47-1/2 strike, the site of peak open interest. There are also another 19,000 ahead at the 55 strike. That is quite a bit of overhead optimism facing the stock. All these calls bring the Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) for MU down to a low 0.51, which is within the lowest four percent of all such daily readings taken over the past year.