Micron Shares Climb Nearly 10% on AI Memory Tightness and Margin Expansion Outlook
Micron’s shares surged nearly 10% on Friday after analysts re-rated AI memory pricing power on record earnings momentum and persistent supply shortages. Deutsche Bank, Susquehanna and Wolfe Research raised price targets to $280–$350, citing structural margin expansion tied to AI infrastructure build-out.
1. Strong Q4 Earnings and Bullish Guidance
Micron reported Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $4.78, exceeding consensus by $1.01, on revenue of $13.64 billion versus estimates of $12.62 billion. Net margin expanded to 28.15% and return on equity reached 22.71%, driven by robust pricing power in AI-driven DRAM and NAND markets. Revenue grew 56.7% year-over-year. Management set Q2 EPS guidance at a range of 8.220–8.620 and full-year FY26 EPS at 6.08, reflecting confidence in continued margin expansion as data center and cloud infrastructure buildout accelerates. The Board also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.115 (annualized $0.46, yield 0.2%), ex-dividend December 29.
2. Institutional Accumulation and Rare Inflow Signals
Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake by 12.5% to 55,255 shares (value $9.245 million) after buying 6,128 shares in Q3. Brighton Jones LLC added 976 shares to reach 6,318 shares ($532,000), while First Manhattan CO. LLC boosted holdings by 25.2% to 9,554 shares ($831,000). Alyeska Investment Group initiated a position valued at approximately $11.217 million, AlTi Global purchased $259,000 worth of shares, and Advisors Asset Management more than doubled its stake to 31,599 shares ($2.746 million) after adding 19,045 shares. Institutional ownership stands at 80.84%. Furthermore, a Big Money outlier inflow signal—first triggered in 1994—has seen cumulative share price appreciation of 2,692%.
3. Recent Price Rally and Insider Activity
The stock jumped nearly 10% on Friday, propelled by supply scarcity in advanced memory chips, record earnings momentum and aggressive Wall Street re-ratings that underscore structural pricing power in AI infrastructure. The 50-day and 200-day moving averages sit at $243.94 and $175.54, respectively, with a market capitalization of $321.71 billion, P/E ratio of 27.17, PEG of 0.18 and beta of 1.54. Insiders sold a combined 349,163 shares valued at $77.8 million in the last quarter. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra trimmed 3,743 shares at an average price of $233.39 (net proceeds $873,579), and Director Steven J. Gomo sold 5,000 shares at $263.63 (net proceeds $1.318 million). Insider ownership remains low at 0.24% of outstanding stock.