Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) was in focus on Wednesday after Wall Street analysts said they see “broad based strength” for the memory maker after it reported better-than-expected quarterly results and guidance.
Shares fell 1.3% in premarket trading, and erased gains after the results were released.
Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers said that Micron said it sees strong progress in its next version of high-bandwidth memory, as the company generated $2B in HBM revenue in the recently reported period. And with HBM4 volume set to ramp up in the second-quarter of 2026, that bodes well for Micron’s future.
“Additionally, MU expects to be HBM sold out over coming months and is now shipping to 6 HBM customers (vs 4 noted in [the] prior quarter),” Rakers wrote in a note to clients. “MU reiterated expectation of a $100B+ HBM [total addressable market] by 2030; reaffirming confidence in our $80B+ [total addressable market estimate] by 2028.”
He reiterated his Overweight rating and upped his price target to $220 from $170, as he now sees the company earning between $16 and $18 per share, up from a prior view of $15 to $17.
Wedbush analyst Matthew Bryson also upped his price target on Micron — moving to $220 from $200 — after the results, and said the company is benefiting from its first “prolonged upcycle” since 2018.
“It’s difficult to fully understand exactly what proportion of the uptick in hyperscale memory requirements the past few weeks is due to underlying real demand, vs. over-ordering to ensure supply,” Bryson wrote. “However, we see this favorable shift in customer requirements as likely yielding a prolonged period of strong dynamics (in-line with MU’s commentary), particularly given a lack of available clean room space to augment supply. Net we believe it is likely the industry is on the verge of a sustained industry up-cycle (the first since 2018 when MU GMs topped 60%). If such a scenario plays out, we see significant room for upside to our FY2026 and FY2027 outlook, which envisions more stable dynamics.”
Several other firms also raised their price targets on Micron after the results, including Barclays, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Piper Sandler, Rosenblatt Securities, and Needham.
Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore was pleasantly surprised at the strength in high-bandwidth memory, which he said should be a “relief in some areas.” However, he noted the stock is nearing peak levels.
“In terms of high bandwidth memory, there are a couple of challenges,” Moore wrote in a note to clients. “For HBM3e, there is likely a pricing step-down happening early next year. That’s not a big change in market conditions, but rather a reflection that 2025 pricing was mostly agreed to during 2024, so pricing towards the end of that period is likely unnaturally high.”
He continued: “Competitors have articulated a sharp decline in margins early next year, resulting in margin premiums vs. traditional DRAM narrowing materially. Micron did not address this, other than to say that CY26 pricing for HBM 3e is mostly locked in. We asked if HBM margins would be above corporate average and the company declined to answer saying that it will vary over time. So there are likely some lingering concerns over margins in this space. That said, if this were resulting in margin pressure in the February quarter, we think that management would have called it out, and they did not.”
Moore has an Equal-Weight rating on Micron and kept his $160 price target, as he believes it is “expensive” on book value, “extremely expensive” on free cash flow metrics, and “expensive” on cycle adjusted earnings.