Micron Technology (MU.US) received optimistic views from multiple major banks before its performance report: the high demand for AI and the rising prices of storage devices are expected to drive its performance.

Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) has become a leader in the storage stock market, partly due to its position in the DRAM and HBM chip markets, which currently have high prices and strong demand. This has led several Wall Street investment banks to reiterate their positive views before Micron Technology, Inc. announces its latest quarterly performance. Micron Technology, Inc. plans to announce its first-quarter results after the US market closes on December 17th. The market generally expects adjusted earnings per share to be $3.83. Revenue is expected to be $12.72 billion. The memory bottleneck has been identified as an increasingly serious problem faced by high-end AI server suppliers, including Dell Technologies, Inc. Class C (DELL.US). Dell Technologies, Inc. Class C stated in its third-quarter earnings conference call that the rising memory prices are increasing its costs, and memory shortages are posing challenges. Dell Technologies, Inc. Vice Chairman Jeffrey Clarke said, "We are in a very unique period. This is unprecedented. We have never seen costs rise so quickly. And it's not just DRAM, but NAND as well." Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft analyst reiterated its "Buy" rating and raised its price target from $200 to $280. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft analyst Melissa Weathers' team stated in a report to investors on Tuesday, "In 2026, the rise in non-HBM DRAM prices is one of the key drivers of profit growth, but the extent of the price increase remains uncertain. The high silicon usage of HBM has absorbed a large amount of wafer capacity, leading to tight supply on existing production lines. In fact, multiple industry sources indicate that prices have risen significantly recently, with the increase exceeding double digits compared to summer levels." Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft also raised its earnings per share forecast for Micron Technology, Inc. for the 2026 fiscal year by nearly 26%, expecting the Idaho-based company to report full-year earnings per share of $20.63, up from the previous estimate of $16.41. The bank also raised its full-year revenue forecast by 12%, from $53.2 billion to $59.66 billion. Weathers stated, "Overall, we believe Micron Technology, Inc. is well positioned to benefit from the upcoming memory cycle, with HBM driving structural industry changes that may elevate its valuation level. In addition, among memory stocks, we believe Micron Technology, Inc. is particularly attractive as it has the unique ability to prioritize profitability over market share in the current environment." On Tuesday, HSBC also initiated a "Buy" rating for Micron Technology, Inc. and set a target price of $330. HSBC analyst Ricky Seo wrote in a report to clients, "Micron Technology, Inc.'s stock price has already risen 172% year to date, outperforming the Nasdaq index (up 22%), but it has recently pulled back due to market concerns about financial risks from new cloud service providers and the 'Stargate' project; we believe cloud service providers investing on their own EBITDA will continue strong capital expenditure implementation. We think now is the time to accumulate shares of Hershey Company." Upon further investigation, Seo stated that he believes Micron may benefit from a longer 4-5 year cycle, compared to the previous cycle lasting only 2-3 years. Seo said, "We think Micron will benefit from a longer 4 to 5-year uptrend cycle, which is longer than the usual 2 to 3-year cycle. Incremental AI spending from new cloud service providers, the 'Stargate' project, and major cloud service providers should drive this cycle, while limited capacity will curb any output growth. In addition, with inference becoming more prevalent, demand for general server and memory content growth is 'strong', while the continued prosperity of HBM is continuing, with NVIDIA Corporation's Rubin Ultra possibly requiring 3.5 times the DRAM chips. Finally, the solid-state drive boom for buffer storage for AI servers and inference is also driving the development of the memory market. We expect the DRAM and NAND markets to grow by 69% and 62% respectively year over year in 2026; Micron will be one of the major beneficiaries." Previously, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. also gave a fundamentally bullish outlook, predicting performance above the widespread expectations on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.'s new profit outlook prompted a reevaluation of its price target. It now believes Micron's stock price could rise to $205, up from the previous target of $180. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. analysts released forecasts before the earnings, expecting Micron Technology, Inc.'s third-quarter revenue to reach $13.2 billion, surpassing the widespread expectation of $12.7 billion, with earnings per share expected to be $4.15, higher than the average expectation of $3.83. Morgan Stanley also expressed a bullish sentiment in a research report. Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in the research report, "We are entering uncharted territory as we are facing a shortage situation similar to 2018, but with much higher EPS starting levels; we expect continued upward revisions. Since upgrading Micron to hold about a month ago, DDR5 spot prices have doubled, historically, to find this kind of price increase in DRAM, you may have to go back to the 1990s cycle."