Micron Technology Inc. MU witnessed a meteoric rise in its stock price in the first half of 2026, rallying nearly 340%. On June 24, the company posted blockbuster third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings results, crushing all estimates.
As a result, on June 25, shares of MU touched an all-time high of $1,255. Thereafter, the stock has seen a gradual decline and is currently in the bear-market territory plunging 22% from its all-time high. However, the recent softness in the stock price has opened a tremendous opportunity for both short and long-term investors.
The chart below shows the price performance of MU in the past month.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Excellent Business Opportunity
Micron has been benefiting tremendously from the enormous application of AI in day-to-day life, which has pushed up the demand for memory chips. The four major hyperscalers raised their AI capital expenditure budget to $750 billion for 2026. This figure is set to cross $1 trillion next year and is likely to rise further beyond 2027.
This has resulted in more AI semiconductor sales, implying the need for multiple AI memory chips to operate. Flash memory technologies like DRAM and NAND are used in AI chips, enabling them to perform optimally.
This has pushed up the demand for AI-enabled memory chips. In their last earnings reports, all four major hyperscalers highlighted a shortage of memory and storage chips, resulting in soaring prices of these products. As a result, MU benefits significantly.
Micron’s CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, said, “Our customers are recognizing that supply shortages in memory and storage will take considerable time to improve, even as we expect industry supply to improve gradually in 2028.”
Solid Estimate Revisions
Micron has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of more than 100% each, for the current year (ending August 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 22.6% over the last 30 days.
MU has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 87.8% and more than 100%, for the next year (ending August 2027). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year’s earnings has improved 44.3% over the last 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Micron’s gross margin climbed to 84.9% in the third quarter from 74.9% in the prior quarter and 39% in the year-ago period. This proved how high-bandwidth memory (HBM) shortage is helping these high-end memory developers to increase prices in a world of AI-powered data center boom. Likewise, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2027 EBITDA margin has shown steady improvement since mid-May.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
New Tech Trends to Drive Prospects
The performance of any AI model depends on memory performance and capacity. MU’s HBM is a highly sought-after product for NVIDIA Corp. NVDA, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD and Alphabet Inc. GOOGL to name a few, for their AI-enabled chipsets.
Micron has meaningful exposure to AI, cloud data centers, industrial IoT and autonomous vehicles, all of which require increasingly advanced memory solutions. As AI adoption accelerates, demand for DRAM and NAND products continues to rise.
NVIDIA identified Micron as a key HBM supplier for its GeForce RTX 50 Blackwell GPUs, reinforcing its importance within the AI supply chain. Demand for HBM4 is also benefiting from next-generation AI infrastructure deployments, including NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform.
On July 8, Reuters reported that Micron has decided to invest more than $250 billion in the United States through 2035. The company’s original investment plan was $170 billion, which it raised to $200 billion in June.
Moreover, MU also unveiled its plan to invest $3 billion in GlobalWafers' silicon wafer manufacturing operations in Texas. The two companies plan to enter a 10-year deal to ensure a long-term supply of raw silicon wafer capacity to the AI memory chip behemoth.
Strong Guidance
Micron anticipates revenues of $50 billion (+/1 billion) in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026. Operating expenses on a non-GAAP basis are estimated to be approximately $1.65 billion. Adjusted EPS is anticipated to be $31.00 (+/- $1.00).
Attractive Valuation
Despite a robust rally, the MU stock still looks very attractive. It trades at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 13.43, which is significantly lower than the industry average of 27.73. This discount adds to the appeal for long-term investors.
MU trades at a price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 12.41, compared with the industry average of 10. Further, it trades at a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 11.12, compared with the industry average of 8.40. These two multiples warrant premiums due to the company’s dominant position in the AI HBM and DRAM markets.
Huge Price Upside Potential
The current Zacks Consensus average price for Micron is based on short-term price targets offered by 33 analysts. The short-term average price target of brokerage firms represents an increase of 52.2% from the last closing price of $979.30.
The brokerage target price is currently in the range of $2,000-$470. This indicates a maximum upside of 104.2% and a maximum downside of 52%. The risk/reward ratio is highly favorable 1:2.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What Next for MU?
Micron currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
MU has invested heavily in next-generation memory technologies, positioning itself to meet the growing performance and efficiency requirements of AI ecosystems. MU’s position in the AI ecosystem continues to strengthen.
Micron Technologies represents an opportunity to invest in a company with substantial unrealized potential in the AI revolution. At this stage, it will be prudent to buy MU on every dip. Hold this stock for the long term as the astonishing growth potential of the global AI-powered data centers and MU’s strong guidance and business visibility are likely to generate more value.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD): Free Stock Analysis Report
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU): Free Stock Analysis Report
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).