New York, Feb 19, 2026, 10:10 ET — Regular session in progress.
- Micron dropped roughly 2.4% at the open, trailing gains seen across other chip stocks.
- Earlier this week, a Needham note sent the stock higher, citing firmer memory-market conditions and signs of prices tightening.
- Nvidia reports Feb. 25, and investors are zeroed in on what those numbers might say about demand for AI hardware.
Micron Technology dropped roughly 2.4% to $411.05 Thursday morning. The move comes after a strong rally, as chip names lost ground alongside wider market weakness. Shares changed hands between $408.03 and $426.34, with volume near 5.8 million.
Micron’s slide is notable—this name’s turned into a fast-moving stand-in for the AI-driven memory rally. Traders have been betting on tight supply and stronger pricing to support margins. But when momentum shifts, patience is in short supply.
Micron is one of just a handful of suppliers for high-bandwidth memory, or HBM — those speedy, power-intensive chips built for AI processors running in data centers — joining Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in the exclusive group. Micron’s most recent quarterly outlook came in hot, with revenue guidance topping Wall Street forecasts. The company also flagged that memory supply constraints are likely to stick around past 2026, as it steps up investment and locks in multi-year deals with customers. (Reuters)
That excitement got another boost after Needham’s N. Quinn Bolton raised his Micron price target to $450, up from $380, maintaining a buy. Bolton highlighted tighter market conditions and “memory pricing moving meaningfully higher,” also citing hyperscaler capital spending as a key demand force. (TipRanks)
The broader market started Thursday in the red, ending a brief uptick, as tech names pulled back following their recent run, according to Reuters. Chip stocks didn’t escape the slump either; the VanEck Semiconductor ETF lost roughly 1.1%. SPY and QQQ both edged lower too, off about 0.2% and 0.4%. (Reuters)
Still, that rally leaves Micron vulnerable if sentiment shifts. On Wednesday, Trefis described the shares as “relatively expensive” based on current valuation metrics. The firm sees room for a more pronounced drop, flagging $278 as a possible downside target—“not out of reach,” as they put it. (Trefis)
There’s also that familiar risk: supply often shifts quicker than demand. Should rivals ramp up capacity too fast—or if enthusiasm for the AI build-out loses steam—prices could weaken in a hurry, dulling the trade’s appeal.
Right now, investors have their eyes on two key issues: the stability of DRAM and NAND pricing, and Micron’s performance in HBM, where buyers want to see a broader supplier base. One weak datapoint can rattle the stock far more than any new product unveiling.
Nvidia’s earnings, landing Feb. 25, are now the next big event for the AI supply chain. The results could shake up forecasts for data-center build-outs—and with that, the appetite for memory chips needed to power them. (NVIDIA Newsroom)
