New York, Feb 18, 2026, 10:19 EST — Regular session
- Micron bounced back in morning trading, up roughly 3% after shaking off an early drop that followed Tuesday’s decline.
- Needham bumped up its Micron price target, pointing to a tighter memory supply and stronger pricing.
- Eyes are on the Fed minutes, set for release at 2 p.m. ET, as traders look for the next move in rate-sensitive tech.
Micron Technology stock climbed 3.3% to $412.79 Wednesday morning, bouncing in a range from $395.30 up to $412.80. By mid-morning, trading volume had hit roughly 6.9 million shares.
Wall Street’s major indexes ticked up, with investors hanging back ahead of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting minutes set for release at 2 p.m. ET. “Just a lot of daily volatility,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, adding that the market is hunting for a new spark. (Reuters)
Micron often moves in sync with the ever-changing AI data-center story and shifting rate bets—both highly sensitive to macro news. As a memory chip bellwether, it’s been quick to react to those swings.
A broker note stirred things up. Needham’s N. Quinn Bolton bumped his price target on Micron to $450 from $380, sticking with a buy call. The memory market, he wrote, is “continuing to tighten” and prices are moving “meaningfully higher,” according to TipRanks, which posted the note summary. (TipRanks)
Micron slid 2.9% to $399.78 on Tuesday, marking its second day in the red. The stock now sits roughly 12% under its late January 52-week high, according to MarketWatch. (MarketWatch)
Fresh speculation about capacity spending came up for investors. According to The Wall Street Journal, Micron is putting $200 billion toward expanding U.S. semiconductor production. Plans include two new fabs in Boise and a $100 billion campus outside Syracuse, New York—production of high-bandwidth memory is scheduled to begin in 2027. HBM, or high-bandwidth memory, refers to stacked DRAM positioned close to AI chips to move data faster. (The Wall Street Journal)
India’s electronics and IT secretary S. Krishnan said Micron is set to launch commercial semiconductor chip production in the country before February wraps up. “This will kick off factory production” at sites cleared under the India Semiconductor Mission’s initial phase, Krishnan noted. (The Economic Times)
Sectors tied to memory and storage remain on a roll. Sandisk has soared roughly 142% since the start of the year, while Western Digital and Seagate have posted strong gains as well, according to Investor’s Business Daily. Micron, however, sits just shy of the year’s leading names. (Investors)
Still, it’s hardly a one-way bet. Memory prices have a habit of flipping fast—especially if supply shows up before buyers are ready. Rate-driven multiple compression? That usually hits high-flying tech names first. On Wednesday, Trefis outlined a scenario where Micron could slump to $278 if valuation multiples contract. (Trefis)
The Fed minutes hit at 2 p.m. ET, and for Micron, that’s the next hurdle. Traders are scanning for hints of a rate move—anything that might alter the outlook for AI-tied chip stocks.
