NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Micron Technology (MU) are jumping 6.17% to $13.94 on heavy trading volume Monday afternoon as the company disclosed a stockholder protection rights agreement known as a "poison pill," the Fly reports.

The Boise, ID-based chipmaker disclosed that on July 20 the board of directors declared a dividend of one right for each share of common stock of the company outstanding at the close of business on August 1, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.

"The Rights Agreement is intended to avoid an 'ownership change' within the meaning of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and thereby preserve the current ability of the company to utilize certain net operating loss carryforwards and other tax benefits of the company and its subsidiaries," Micron said in the filing.

A rights agreement such as this is often established by a company in anticipation of a hostile takeover effort, the Fly noted.

About 42.71 million of Micron's shares were traded so far today vs. its average volume of 31.6 million shares per day.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings Team has a "Hold" rating with a score of C on the stock.

The primary factors that have impacted the rating are mixed. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins.

But the team also finds weaknesses including feeble growth in the company's earnings per share, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity.

Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: MU