Micron Stock Gains Support

Micron’s stock has received another significant endorsement from Wall Street, indicating that timing is crucial in the market. Recently, stock prices for leading memory manufacturers have surged by 10%, with Morgan Stanley forecasting further growth and setting a target price between $350 and $450. They also reiterated that the current evaluation may be a bit on the high side.

The optimism stems from the growing pricing power within the memory sector. Micron and its competitors are advancing rapidly, particularly as infrastructure spending for artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to skyrocket. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) is becoming essential for AI accelerators, and, quite frankly, it’s challenging to keep up with the pace.

In a recent CNBC interview, Micron’s CEO Sanjay Mehrotra highlighted the insatiable demands posed by AI. According to reports from Seeking Alpha, the thirst for memory in AI won’t be easing anytime soon, as Samsung Electronics’ CTO, Song Jae-hyuk, noted during SEMICON Korea 2026, asserting that demand for AI-related infrastructure is predicted to stay robust until at least 2027 as major tech companies ramp up production of 6th generation HBM4 chips.

Clark Tseng, from a semiconductor research firm, stated, “Memory and packaging are no longer sidelined—they’re crucial to scaling our AI infrastructure efficiently.”

On another note, Lenovo has observed a significant price hike in memory, around 40% to 50% in the past quarter, nearly doubling in the current one. Such factors are pushing Micron’s stock to unprecedented heights, with a 44% increase year-to-date, even amidst a broader market downturn.

As the building of AI infrastructure escalates, Micron seems to be well-prepared for what’s ahead this year. Morgan Stanley’s Joseph Moore pointed out that despite the impressive performance in the DRAM market over the last year, there are still challenges ahead, particularly regarding supply.

Impressive Market Numbers

Several statistics reflect the bullish sentiment:

• DDR5 spot prices have jumped 30% year-over-year.
• Spot prices are now 130% higher than levels seen in January, an 86% rise since December.
• Mainstream pricing remains over 10% below spot prices.
• Average selling prices (ASP) could approach high teens per gigabyte.

That’s a striking leverage in pricing. Moreover, Moore now anticipates that Micron could potentially earn around $52 per share by 2026, driven by HBM demand. HBM is undoubtedly a critical component here, but the current DDR5 pricing is also proving to be quite appealing.

The race for efficient product delivery and scaling capabilities is crucial for companies looking to earn investor confidence. Yet, the scoreboard in the memory sector is quite telling.

In the DRAM market, SK Hynix is leading with a 33.2% market share, trailed by Samsung at 32.6% and Micron at 25.7%. The gap widens significantly in the HBM segment, which is crucial for AI GPUs.

At present, SK Hynix commands a 53% market share, with Samsung at 35% and Micron trailing behind at 11%. In the NAND sector, Samsung holds 32.3% and SK Hynix follows with 19.3%.

SK Hynix is clearly dominating the HBM landscape and is likely to capture most of Nvidia’s initial demand, while Samsung is working hard to close the gap. Despite being a smaller player in HBM, Micron is gaining traction, having already begun mass production of HBM4, with 2026 supplies already sold out.

• Year-to-date: Micron +43.77% versus S&P 500 +1.40%
• 1 year: Micron +336.16% versus S&P 500 +14.38%
• 3 years: Micron +585.96% versus S&P 500 +69.70%
• 5 years: Micron +374.49% versus S&P 500 +77.24%
• 10 years: Micron +4,134.67% versus S&P 500 +279.50%

This illustrates quite a remarkable trajectory for Micron in comparison to the broader market.