New York, Feb 4, 2026, 16:09 EST — After-hours
- Micron shares were last down about 9.8% in late Wednesday trade after a volatile session.
- Chip stocks slid as investors questioned how far the AI-driven rally can run from here.
- A filing showed Micron officer Sumit Sadana filed to sell 25,000 shares.
Micron Technology, Inc. shares slid nearly 10% on Wednesday, cutting into the memory-chip maker’s early-year surge as investors sold AI-linked tech into the close. Micron was last down $40.94 at $378.50, after trading as low as $364.01 and as high as $422.50.
The drop matters because Micron has been a clean way to play the AI buildout without owning the AI chip designers themselves. When that trade gets hit on a day like this, it tends to spill into the rest of the semiconductor complex.
Wall Street ended lower as investors worried about rich valuations and whether the AI rally has topped out, with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices among the laggards. Nvidia fell and the PHLX semiconductor index — a benchmark for major U.S.-listed chipmakers — finished sharply lower, Reuters reported. “The market is suddenly skeptical and concerned about it,” said Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital. (Reuters)
Memory fundamentals, though, have not exactly cooled. TrendForce on Monday raised its forecast for conventional DRAM contract prices — negotiated prices in supply agreements between chipmakers and customers — and said they could jump 90% to 95% in the first quarter versus the prior quarter. “Persistent AI and data center demands” are worsening the global supply-demand imbalance, the researcher said. (Reuters)
DRAM, short for dynamic random-access memory, is a core component in servers and PCs. Micron also makes NAND flash memory used in storage, and both businesses tend to swing hard with pricing.
A regulatory filing added another data point for investors watching insider activity. Micron officer Sumit Sadana filed a Form 144 notice for a proposed sale of 25,000 shares, with an aggregate market value listed at about $10.7 million, through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. (Micron Technology)
With the regular session over, attention shifts fast to the next big catalyst for the AI trade: Alphabet’s results after the bell. Investors have been leaning on Big Tech earnings as a gut-check on data-center spending and the tone around AI budgets. (Investopedia)
But the downside case is easy to sketch. Memory is cyclical, and pricing power can fade quickly if demand softens or supply lands earlier than expected. A broader risk-off turn in tech can do the rest, even if Micron’s near-term order book holds up.
For Micron holders, Thursday’s open will show whether this was a one-day flush or the start of something messier. Near-term, the market’s next marker is Alphabet’s earnings later Wednesday.
