New York, Jan 4, 2026, 16:21 ET — Market closed
- Micron shares rallied 10.5% on Friday to $315.42 after touching $319.60 intraday.
- Bernstein lifted its Micron price target to $330 from $270 as it pointed to a memory price upcycle tied to AI demand. 1
- Next up: U.S. data starts Monday with ISM manufacturing, with CPI on Jan. 13 and a Fed decision on Jan. 28 looming. 2
Micron Technology (MU) heads into Monday’s U.S. reopen after a sharp Friday rally that lifted the memory-chip maker 10.5% to $315.42. The stock hit an intraday high of $319.60, reflecting heavy momentum into the first full week of 2026.
The move matters because Micron sits near the center of the “AI buildout” trade: more servers and accelerators typically mean more demand for memory chips, which can lift prices and margins when supply is tight. Investors have treated memory pricing as the swing factor, and Friday’s jump suggests the market is still rewarding bullish calls on the cycle.
Bernstein said a “record price upcycle” in memory is being driven by sustained AI-related demand and constrained supply, and it raised price targets across major memory makers, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. It also highlighted high-bandwidth memory, or HBM — a premium form of DRAM used alongside AI accelerators — as a key driver for 2026 demand. 3
Bernstein raised its price target on Micron to $330 from $270 and kept an “outperform” view, Reuters reported in a markets note. Data compiled by LSEG showed Micron’s average analyst rating is “buy,” with a median price target of $300, after the stock more than tripled in 2025. 1
Bernstein SocGen Group analyst Mark Li wrote that Micron is positioned to benefit “as AI makes data center demand balloon but supply expansion takes time,” and he pointed to rising DRAM — dynamic random access memory, the working memory used in PCs and servers. Li also forecast a 20% to 25% sequential increase in DRAM prices in Micron’s fiscal second quarter and said prices could keep rising “throughout 2026.” 4
Micron’s optimism around pricing sits on a strong baseline. In its fiscal first-quarter report in mid-December, the company posted revenue of $13.64 billion and non-GAAP earnings of $4.78 per share, then guided fiscal second-quarter revenue to $18.70 billion plus or minus $400 million. It projected non-GAAP gross margin of about 68% and non-GAAP EPS of $8.42 plus or minus $0.20, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share payable Jan. 14. 5
Micron’s surge came alongside a broader pop in chip-related names. Western Digital rose about 9% and Sandisk jumped about 16% on Friday, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained about 4%. 6
From a trading perspective, MU’s round-number levels are now part of the conversation. After Friday’s burst toward $320, investors will look for follow-through versus a quick fade back toward the $300 area that often acts as a near-term sentiment gauge.
There is a catch for bulls: memory remains a cyclical business, and pricing can turn quickly if customers slow orders or rivals add capacity faster than expected. After a double-digit jump, the stock has less room for disappointment if pricing momentum cools or if the broader AI spend narrative hits a pothole.
The next test comes with the calendar. U.S. data begins Monday with the ISM manufacturing index at 10:00 a.m. ET and December auto sales, followed by the ADP employment report and ISM services on Wednesday; the December CPI report is due Jan. 13 and the Fed’s next policy meeting runs Jan. 27–28. Wall Street’s earnings calendars currently estimate Micron’s next report on March 19, though the company has not confirmed a date. 2
