Micron Stock Set to Explode as Citi Analyst Issues New Forecast ‘Driven by Better YTD Memory Prices’

Micron stock is currently seeing a big push as Wall Street prepares for a major move in the memory market. On Monday, Citi C +0.20% ▲ analysts led by Atif Malik sent a jolt through the sector by raising their price target for Micron to $430, up from their previous guess of $385. The firm is so confident in the company’s future that it has raised its earnings estimates well above what the rest of the market expects. According to Citi, “We raise our Feb-Q/Apr-Q estimates above the Street driven by better YTD memory prices.”

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Citi Analyst Predicts a Historic Price Jump

The main reason for this change is a sudden and large jump in the cost of memory chips. Citi’s global memory analyst, Peter Lee, expects the average price of DRAM, the core memory used in AI systems, to jump by 171% in 2026. He also predicts that NAND prices will climb by 127%. With demand from AI data centers hitting record levels, Malik and his team stated, “We have raised our earnings estimates for the February quarter and future quarters above market expectations.”

Wall Street Debates the Move Into a Memory Supercycle

Investors are now debating if we are entering a memory cycle similar to the massive PC boom of the 1990s. This time, the driver is AI and a lack of new factory space to build chips. While the stock has already gained over 36% so far this year, Citi believes there is still room to go. The analysts noted that they have studied how the stock performs when chip prices go up and “believe the stock could sustain gains this year.” Micron is currently the world’s third-largest producer of DRAM, making it a key player for anyone betting on the AI boom.

Micron Faces a Monster Earnings Test

All eyes are now on March 18, when Micron will officially report its latest financial results. The market is expecting a very strong report, with some predictions suggesting revenue could reach over $19 billion. Other analysts are even more bullish than Citi; for example, Susquehanna’s Mehdi Hosseini recently pushed its target all the way to $525. With the chance of an earnings beat sitting at over 97% on prediction markets, the pressure is on for Micron to prove that this growth is just getting started.

Is MU a Good Stock to Buy?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MU stock based on 26 Buys, one Hold, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average 12-month MU price target of $438.44 per share implies 4.7% upside potential.

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