The momentum has returned to one of 2026's hottest AI trades: Micron (MU). Shares of the memory chip play crossed the psychologically important $1,000 level in premarket trading on Monday. The stock hasn't traded at or above this price since July 6, per Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace data.
From that date, shares lost 25% through July 29 amid a broader pullback in momentum AI names on overvaluation fears. The stock has since rallied from these lows by 36%. Shares are up 240% year to date.
There are several factors likely driving the stock to greener pastures.
For one, hyperscaler infrastructure buildouts continue to run hot, driving massive order volume for Micron's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) modules. Specifically, Micron's HBM3E and HBM4 are seeing brisk demand as they are essential hardware components alongside Nvidia and AMD AI graphics accelerators. The strong demand from hyperscalers is poised to keep the memory chip crisis — which is driving up prices for Micron products — for at least two years, JPMorgan strategist Jay Kwon wrote in a recent note.
"Higher memory total addressable market driven by both pricing and volume, S-D shortage continues for the next two years," Kwon said. "Memory demand broadening out from GPU to CPU appears to have been underestimated by investors (conceptually well known but actual S-D impact underlooked) and remains a key source of potential upward revisions to demand."
The company also struck a bullish tone at an industry event earlier this month, highlighting increased demand since it last reported earnings in June.
"Since earnings, Micron indicated aggregate demand signals have increased further across end markets, with customers consistently requesting more supply despite elevated pricing — notably, Micron mentioned it cannot meet half of DC customer demand in many cases," KeyBanc analyst John Vinh said after the event.
"Micron now sees demand strength to drive tighter conditions in 2027 vs. 2026 after previously indicating that tightness would persist beyond 2027," Vinh added.
Brian Sozzi* is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the 'Power Players With Brian Sozzi' podcast, and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X** @BrianSozzi**,** Instagram**, and** LinkedIn**. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.*
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