Latest news with #KevinCassidy
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Kevin Cassidy questions Donegal's approach to Ulster championship
Former Donegal footballer Kevin Cassidy has questioned if the county could have approached the Ulster championship differently ahead of the All-Ireland semi-final this weekend. Sunday's game against Meath will be Donegal's 10th in the championship, which included a highly competitive Ulster championship, which they won after extra time against Armagh. Advertisement Combined with a schedule that Jim McGuinness has not held back to criticise, it has been a long season for the Ulster champions. Looing back on the season so far, Cassidy says Monaghan will have regrets of how the quarter-final eneded against Donegal, and how the toll of Ulster could now be showing. "Donegal played very well in the second half, but Monaghan will look probably look back on that video, and there is definitely some chances they left behind. "If they were to take one or two of those, then it is a different story. I think of the Beggan free-kick in particular, if that goes in it is a different story. Advertisement "We can't take away from the taxing Ulster campaign that we have had. Jim makes no bones about it, he really goes after the Ulster championship. "It is a double-edged sword. It is great to win the Ulster championship, but there is another competition that starts directly after it. "To get the boys up to such a level that they reach in Ulster, and then to keep doing that is difficult. That is where you see the drop off. "In the Tyrone game, Tyrone were very good, but I don't think we were as good as we can be. The Monaghan game, the first half was disappointing, the first half against Louth is disappointing." Advertisement Having won the Ulster championship last season in McGuinness' first season back in charge of the county, Donegal were defeated in the All-Ireland semi-finals to Galway. Having come so close to an All-Ireland last season, Cassidy says Sam Maguire would have been his priority this season over Ulster. "Personally for me, having won Ulster last year, I would not have put as much emphasis on winning it this year. "Ultimately for Donegal this year, the end goal is the All-Ireland, I think that is clear for everybody to see. Advertisement "There is two sides to it. Perosnally, I would have probably put more emphasis on the All-Ireland series, but Donegal have won their second Ulster back-to-back, and I think that's something Jim goes after from day one." One of the main players for Donegal this season has been a former teammate of Cassidy in Michael Murphy, who made his return after retiring from inter-county football in 2022. Under the new rules and back with McGuinness, Murphy has flourished at the age of 35, which has been no surprise to Cassidy. "Long before the announcement was made, Michael was back training with his personal trainer on a one-to-onw, to make sure he could give whatever was left in his body. "Perosnally, I thought Donegal would gain a lot more from Michael coming off the bench 10 minutes into the second half, but I think his performances through the season turned Jim's head. "That is testament to the work Michael has done and the shape he has got himself into."
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Kevin Cassidy: Meath must throw off shackles to upset Donegal
Meath have been the surprise packet of an enthralling football championship so far this season. But if they're to continue their steep upward trajectory and finish the season as more than just a feel-good story, they need to attack Sunday's semi-final meeting with Donegal as if they've nothing to lose. That's according to former Donegal star Kevin Cassidy who has warned the Royal County that, if they don't throw the shackles off and go after the ball against Jim McGuinness' experienced side, they might spend much of a stifling warm afternoon chasing after it. Donegal, on the other hand, must beware the team who are already playing with house money. "Meath are dangerous because they've nothing to lose," Cassidy told RTÉ Sport's Damian Lawlor this week. "They're gonna come in and throw the shackles off. That works both ways. Donegal are so good. Once they're in possession, it's so hard to get it back off them. "Meath are really strong around that middle sector. Although it was funny, I was chatting to Trevor Giles and I was saying Meath are a big physical side, and he says, 'you think that, but our men aren't that really big. It's just that they're so aggressive in terms of how they attack the ball and how they attack the breaks'. "For me, to have a chance, they have to get on top of midfield and get a hold of the ball without Donegal getting it. That takes repetition, repetition. Once Donegal have the ball, you very rarely get it back off them. It ends up in a score or a win." Donegal came into this campaign bolstered by the return of Michael Murphy from retirement. Even the most optimistic Donegal fan, however, could not have foreseen the three-time All Star looking as influential as ever at 35 years of age. Murphy is one of the main reasons the Ulster champions are looking a good bet to snatch a first All-Ireland title since 2012. "I've been impressed by him. He started the league very well, so he obviously had a lot of work done pre-season," Cassidy said of his former team-mate. "Donegal were in good shape in terms of where other teams were at." A one-point win after extra time in an epic provincial final with Armagh was followed by a slight lull in the Tír Chonaill men's performances. An opening loss in Tyrone in the round-robin stage was followed by a win away to Cavan before they ended their group stage with a one-point home victory over Mayo. Not exactly All-Ireland-winning form, according to Cassidy. But the former county half-back also feels any Donegal dip in form will have been seized upon by McGuinness for motivational purposes as he prepares to pit his wits against Robbie Brennan's midas touch on the opposite sideline. "Jim puts a lot emphasis on the Ulster championship, so that was the first goal, to get there," Cassidy explained. "It was tough for the players, it was taxing on the players. But they got their just rewards by winning Ulster after that. "It's only natural that there would be a small drop off. We're seeing that in the defeat to Tyrone. I didn't think the first half against Cavan was good. First half wasn't great against Monaghan. So there's a lot of stuff to work on. "If I was Jim, I'd be happy with that, because if they were trailblazing through everybody, somebody's going to catch them somewhere. "He's got leverage there to bring the players back down to earth. And that's what he'd probably done in the last two weeks."
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Kevin Cassidy says it's like 2012 all over again for Donegal ahead of semi-final with underdogs Meath
Former Donegal footballer Kevin Cassidy has pinpointed the battle between Meath full back Seán Rafferty and Donegal full forward Michael Murphy as being potentially pivotal to Sunday's All-Ireland SFC semi-final. 'I'm really looking forward to the Rafferty and Murphy matchup, to be honest,' said Cassidy, speaking at an AIB event on Wednesday. 'The young lad starting out his career, Michael with all his experience. Two good lads who love the real physical aspect of a game. 'I think Michael will probably try and drag him out of that position. If he can drag Rafferty out of full back, it may leave gaps for other players.' In his first year of championship football, Rafferty has been one of Meath's stars and was particularly impressive in their quarter-final win over Galway . READ MORE 'I watched Rafferty in a couple of games this year – he's a young lad, his first year on the panel and he plays with no fear," said Cassidy. 'I'm thinking about the turnover on Johnny Maher the last day. If that was any other defender, they wouldn't want to jump in. He attacks every ball.' Although Meath are underdogs for Sunday's match at Croke Park, they have already beaten the odds this year with wins over Dublin, Kerry and Galway. Cassidy believes Donegal manager Jim McGuinness will not allow his players to fall into the trap of buying into their status as favourites. Former Donegal footballer Kevin Cassidy pictured at an AIB event ahead of the All-Ireland SFC semi-finals. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'It'll be on Jim's radar. Everybody's building us up, but I can guarantee the message he will be putting across is, 'go back two years ago and everybody was knocking Donegal'. They (Meath) beat Cork, Dublin, Galway and Kerry; Jim is going to drive that message home that these lads are absolutely here on merit.' There is history between Cassidy and McGuinness. The Donegal manager dropped the two-time All Star after the publication of a book in which Cassidy contributed information about Donegal's championship preparations in 2011. His omission from the panel meant Cassidy missed out on the All-Ireland win in 2012. Cassidy says this season is beginning to feel like 2012 all over again: 'It does look like that at the minute. Jim, he takes a project and he breaks everything apart and builds it block by block. In 2011, that's when he stripped it back and started to build. 'The game against Galway last year – if we had Michael Murphy, would we have got over the line? Jim obviously identified that. He's brought Michael back in and I think they're playing a better mixture this year.' He believes his old boss was right to complain about the scheduling of their quarter-final against Monaghan just six days after beating Louth , although he also admits that it grew into a bigger story than it should have been. 'Obviously the six-day turnaround was a legitimate complaint and it was unfair. But I think by that stage we had complained that much that nobody was listening to us any more. So listen, I think Jim got his point across, but from a player point of view, it's all about Sunday now.'
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can Micron Stock Hit $200 in 2025?
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) chips, most investors naturally think of chip giants like Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for their powerful GPUs. However, Micron Technology (MU) also deserves a seat at the table, thanks to its high-performance memory and storage chips, such as DRAM and NAND. These chips are crucial for training and running AI models across various devices, including data centers, smartphones, and edge devices. Micron made headlines last month with strong third-quarter earnings, highlighting growing demand for AI-driven memory capacity. Shortly after, the company also earned a Street-high $200 price target from Rosenblatt analyst Kevin Cassidy, who pointed to Micron's solid Q3 performance and growing role in the AI space as key reasons behind his bullish outlook. It has already been a strong year for Micron so far, but can MU stock climb all the way to this new target? This Analyst Just Raised His Broadcom Stock Price Target by 70%. Should You Buy AVGO Now? Why Alibaba Stock Looks Like a Screaming Buy After Falling 27% From Its 2025 Highs 2 ETFs Offering Juicy Dividend Yields of 20% or Higher Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now! With a market capitalization of about $137 billion, Micron is a leading player in the memory and storage industry, offering advanced DRAM, NAND, and NOR solutions through its Micron and Crucial brands. Its innovations are central to the growing data economy, enabling everything from AI workloads in data centers to performance-driven experiences at the edge and on mobile devices. After slipping about 9% over the past year, this memory powerhouse has flipped the script in 2025. So far this year, MU stock has surged an impressive 42%, leaving the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) modest 6% gain year-to-date (YTD) in the dust. Even more striking, shares have skyrocketed 75% in just the past three months, signaling a powerful resurgence fueled by growing demand and renewed investor confidence. With Rosenblatt's bullish price target in mind, Micron's present valuation level looks notably attractive. The stock currently trades at a modest 17 times forward earnings, which is well below its semiconductor peers, such as Nvidia's 40 times and AMD's 43 times. MU stock is also trading far under its own five-year average, suggesting investors may still be underestimating its upside as demand for AI-powered memory continues to accelerate. Micron released its fiscal 2025 third-quarter earnings on June 25, surpassing projections on both the top and bottom lines. Micron generated a record $9.3 billion in total revenue during the period. The reported figure marked a more than 36% increase from the year-ago period, and also comfortably surpassed the $8.8 billion consensus target. But the real growth story goes beyond just the top-line beat. Micron's non-GAAP gross margin expanded to 39% in Q3, up from 28.1% in the same quarter last year. Digging further, DRAM stole the spotlight with revenue reaching $7.1 billion in Q3, up a remarkable 51% year-over-year (YOY) and accounting for 76% of Micron's total revenue. On a sequential basis, DRAM sales rose 15%, fueled by a more than 20% jump in bit shipments, even as average selling prices dipped slightly due to a greater mix of consumer-grade products. NAND generated $2.2 billion, representing a 4% YOY increase and accounting for 23% of total revenue. Meanwhile, Micron's compute and networking segment, which includes its data center HBM sales, posted a standout performance, raking in $5.1 billion. In fact, management credited the record-breaking segment revenue to all-time-high DRAM sales, with HBM revenue alone soaring nearly 50% sequentially. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra highlighted that data center revenue 'more than doubled year over year and reached a record level,' underscoring Micron's growing momentum in the AI-driven memory race. 'We are on track to deliver record revenue with solid profitability and free cash flow in [fiscal 2025], while we invest to build on our leadership to address growing AI-driven memory demand,' Mehrotra added. Micron's revenue surge also delivered a big win on the bottom line. The company's adjusted EPS of $1.91 jumped a whopping 200% annually, easily crushing Wall Street's estimates of $1.59. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Micron is aiming even higher, with revenue expected to reach $10.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million. Non-GAAP EPS is projected to range between $2.35 and $2.65. Over the longer term, analysts tracking Micron see a massive surge in the bottom line in fiscal 2025. And the upward momentum is expected to continue in fiscal 2026 with another 68% surge in profit to $11.80 per share. Following Micron's blowout Q3 results, Rosenblatt analyst Kevin Cassidy boosted his price target on the stock from $172 to a Street-high $200, while reaffirming his 'Buy' rating. Cassidy remains firmly bullish, citing booming AI-driven DRAM demand and Micron's best-in-class power efficiency as key drivers behind its standout performance. The analyst continues to favor the stock, highlighting its compelling valuation, solid balance sheet, widening margins, and strong earnings leverage as reasons to stay optimistic. Overall, Wall Street is clearly bullish on Micron, with MU stock earning a consensus rating of 'Strong Buy' as optimism around its AI-driven growth story continues to gain steam. Of the 30 analysts offering recommendations, a majority of 22 analysts advocate for a solid 'Strong Buy,' four suggest a 'Moderate Buy,' three play it safe with 'Hold,' and the remaining one gives a 'Strong Sell" rating. The average analyst price target of $150.72 indicates 26% upside potential from current levels, but Rosenblatt's ambitious Street-high target of $200 suggests that the stock can rally as much as 67%. With explosive earnings, rising AI tailwinds, and growing confidence from analysts, Micron is gaining serious momentum. If MU stock's current trajectory holds, the memory giant could be gearing up for a breakout run toward the bold $200 target. On the date of publication, Anushka Mukherji did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. 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Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rosenblatt Securities Raises Micron's Price Target to Street-High of $200, Reiterates Buy Rating
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is one of the . On June 26, Rosenblatt Securities raised the price target on MU from $172 to a Street-high of $200, reiterating a Buy rating on the stock. Kevin Cassidy from Rosenblatt Securities raised the price target on Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) following strong Q3 2025 results. The company's revenue hit a quarterly record of $9.3 billion, up 37% year-over-year, and surpassed consensus by almost $450 million. The strong revenue was driven by ongoing strength in data center markets and robust quarter-over-quarter growth across consumer-facing segments. The company saw a record-high DRAM revenue, with almost 50% sequential growth in HBM sales. Micron's adjusted gross margin soared to 39% in Q3, while the adjusted earnings of $1.91 surpassed consensus by $0.31. Manczurov/ 'The combination of AI applications driving DRAM demand and Micron's leading power efficiency drove revenue, gross margin, operating margins, and profits well above Street expectations,' said Cassidy. 'Outlook is for more of the same. With DRAM wafer capacity expansion over 18 months away, we see this cycle driving Micron's income model to all-time highs. We continue recommending MU shares for the relatively low valuation, 12x fP/E, strong balance sheet, expanding margins, and earnings leverage.' Micron Technology now expects Q4 FY2025 to post similar results with an equally upbeat outlook. The revenue for the ongoing quarter is expected to be around $10.4 billion and $11 billion. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is a leading player in the AI industry as the company develops high-performance memory and storage solutions, such as DRAM and NAND. These are important devices used for running and training AI models across data centers, consumer electronics, and edge devices. While we acknowledge the potential of MU as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
