TLDR
- Micron stock dropped ~4.9% in premarket Tuesday after Samsung and SK Hynix fell sharply following Samsung’s Q2 earnings forecast.
- Samsung reported a 19x jump in operating profit year-over-year, beating estimates, but the market reaction still dragged memory chip peers lower.
- Micron is now down roughly 22% from its record high of ~$1,255, trading around $985.
- Wall Street analysts remain bullish — price targets range from $1,200 (Citi) to $1,625 (UBS), with Bank of America raising its target to $1,500.
- Risks include Michael Burry’s reported short position and a potential supply glut if Samsung and SK Hynix’s combined ~$3.7 trillion investment hits the market.
Micron Technology (MU) stock fell roughly 4.9% in premarket trading on Tuesday, pulled lower after South Korean memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both dropped sharply. SanDisk fell 4.7% in the same move.
The trigger was Samsung’s second-quarter earnings forecast. Samsung estimated April-June operating profit at 89.4 trillion won (~$58.44 billion), up from 4.7 trillion won a year earlier — a roughly 19-fold jump. That beat an LSEG SmartEstimate of 87.3 trillion won. Revenue was forecast to rise 129% year-over-year to 171 trillion won.
Strong numbers, but the market sold the news anyway.
The premarket drop adds to a broader pullback that has taken Micron about 22% off its all-time high near $1,255, with the stock sliding to around $985 as of Monday. Even so, MU remains up more than 250% year-to-date.
The recent slide doesn’t appear to be about Micron’s own fundamentals. The company just posted record fiscal third-quarter revenue of $41.5 billion, up from $9.3 billion a year earlier. Non-GAAP net income came in at $28.9 billion, or $25.11 per diluted share. Operating cash flow hit $25.4 billion.
Those are not numbers that suggest a business in trouble.
What Triggered the Selloff
The pullback looks more like a broader AI hardware reset after a long, fast rally. Meta’s reported move to build a third-party AI compute business rattled investors, who read it as a possible sign that some hyperscalers could eventually have excess capacity. That hit sentiment across chipmakers and AI infrastructure names.
Goldman Sachs noted that US hedge funds had sold technology hardware stocks for a fourth straight week heading into earnings season, reflecting caution after sharp semiconductor gains. That kind of positioning can amplify selloffs when sentiment shifts.
What Analysts Are Saying
Wall Street isn’t running for the exits. Bank of America’s Vivek Arya raised his price target on Micron to $1,500 from $950, keeping a Buy rating. He sees AI infrastructure shifting from a demand story to a physical bottleneck story, where memory remains scarce.
Citi’s Atif Malik raised his target to $1,200 in June, citing better-than-expected memory pricing and strong data-center demand. UBS analyst Nicolas Gaudois kept a $1,625 target, calling the dip a buying opportunity and pointing to persistent memory-industry strength.
The bull case rests on supply staying tight. That’s the thread most analysts are pulling.
On the other side, Michael Burry has reportedly taken a short position against Micron, questioning whether the stock’s surge reflects AI hype rather than sustainable value.
There’s also the classic memory-cycle risk. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together plan roughly $3.7 trillion in long-term investment. If that supply hits when AI demand softens, pricing pressure could follow.
Samsung is expected to release detailed divisional results later this month.
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