NEW YORK, January 16, 2026, 16:15 EST — After-hours
- Micron shares jumped 7.8%, closing Friday at $362.75
- Micron kicked off construction on its $100 billion megafab project in New York
- A director revealed a purchase of 23,200 shares; RBC initiated coverage with a bullish rating
Shares of Micron Technology (MU.O) climbed 7.8%, ending Friday at $362.75, after reaching an intraday high of $365.59.
Micron’s surge is key, placing it at the heart of the market’s current chip crunch—not processors, but memory. Traders are betting supply will remain tight despite shifting demand.
Much of the discussion centers on High Bandwidth Memory, or HBM — a stacked DRAM placed near AI processors to speed up data transfer. This is one of the rare spots where buyers really can’t haggle much over price.
On Friday, Micron officially broke ground on its massive new megafab site in Clay, New York—a $100 billion memory manufacturing complex that could house up to four fabs and begin production by 2030. The groundbreaking ceremony included Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials. Micron called the site the largest semiconductor facility in the U.S., projecting it will create 50,000 jobs in New York as part of a roughly $200 billion U.S. expansion plan to make 40% of its DRAM domestically. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the event “underscores our commitment,” while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang added that “advanced memory has become essential,” according to the company. 1
A regulatory filing revealed that Micron director Teyin Liu purchased 23,200 shares on Jan. 13-14 at a weighted-average price near $337, boosting his direct stake to 25,910 shares. 2
RBC Capital kicked off coverage on Wednesday, assigning an Outperform rating and setting a $425 price target. The firm pointed to strong generative AI demand combined with tighter supply controls as drivers of “extreme tightness” in the memory market. Analyst Srini Pajjuri highlighted limited clean-room capacity and the industry’s shift to higher-end HBM — especially the transition to HBM4 — as factors likely to extend the upcycle through 2027. 3
The jump followed strength in chip stocks. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index climbed 1.1% on Friday. Meanwhile, broader U.S. equities edged up only slightly ahead of the long weekend, as markets close Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 4
Micron stands out as one of the rare major U.S.-listed pure memory plays, going head-to-head mostly with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The stock often acts as a barometer for pricing trends — when contract prices rise, Micron’s shares typically react swiftly, setting the tone before the details emerge.
Memory remains a cyclical market outside the premium segments. Should data-center spending ease up or supply outpace demand, prices can drop sharply, making the latest bullish forecasts appear overly optimistic.
Since the market is closed Monday, all eyes turn to upcoming earnings and guidance, which will test chip demand again. Intel plans to release its results after the U.S. market closes on January 22, the company confirmed. 5
