NEW YORK, Jan 16, 2026, 17:05 (ET) — After-hours trading.
Micron Technology (MU.O) shares surged on Friday following a director’s announcement of a significant open-market buy, giving fresh momentum to an already red-hot memory-chip rally. The stock climbed as much as 7.8%, hitting $362.75, with an intraday peak at $365.59.
Timing is key. Chip stocks held steady since Thursday following Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s upbeat annual growth forecast and its plans to boost U.S. manufacturing capacity, which kept buyers interested in the sector through the weekend. 1
Micron remains in the spotlight, and this particular trade offered the market a clear point of focus. While a large insider purchase isn’t a prediction, traders often see it as a sign—especially when a stock is already on the move.
Director Teyin M. Liu disclosed in a Form 4 filing that he bought 23,200 shares of Micron in three separate trades on Jan. 13-14, at roughly $337 each. After these purchases, his total stake rose to 25,910 shares, according to the filing. 2
Liu, a former Taiwan Semiconductor executive and Micron board member, snapped up shares over two sessions as the stock dipped slightly. The total spend came to roughly $7.8 million, according to MarketWatch. 3
The memory sector remains cyclical — prices climb when supply shrinks and drop as fresh capacity arrives. What sets this cycle apart, investors say, is the surge in demand driven by artificial intelligence systems, where servers gobble up vast quantities of premium memory.
Friday’s trading offered little relief for investors. U.S. stocks closed almost unchanged ahead of the long weekend. “Most investors will take that as a win two weeks into the year,” said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, with earnings season starting to draw attention. The U.S. stock market will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Reuters reported.
Micron wasn’t the only one moving up. Sandisk showed gains, and Seagate Technology along with Western Digital also saw their shares climb, Barron’s reported. But the outlet cautioned that Chinese competitors might ramp up pressure in the flash memory space, challenging current pricing strength. 4
Micron now faces a key question: can the rally stick without new catalysts? Investors will focus on updates around memory pricing, supply controls, and data-center demand when trading resumes post-holiday.
Next week brings a key read on the semiconductor sector: Intel will release its fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes on Thursday, Jan. 22. 5
