Micron Technology's stock soared 5.00% during intraday trading on Thursday, continuing its strong momentum from the previous session.
The rally follows comments from Micron's Chief Financial Officer Mark Murphy at a Wolfe Research conference on Wednesday, where he addressed concerns about competition in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip space. Murphy stated that the company's HBM4 offering is in high-volume production with shipments successfully ramping in the first quarter, a year ahead of initial expectations. He emphasized that Micron is "in the best competitive position it's ever been in, at a perfect time," with most demand driven by the artificial-intelligence buildout.
Adding to the bullish sentiment, Morgan Stanley significantly raised its price target for Micron from $350 to $450 while maintaining an "Overweight" rating and designating the stock as its top pick in the semiconductor sector. The bank cited intensifying supply-demand imbalances, with AI-driven demand creating shortages that allow Micron to exercise pricing power. Morgan Stanley noted that memory chip prices are rising rapidly, with Micron's average selling price potentially increasing close to 30% quarter-over-quarter.