Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) shares rose 4.1% in premarket trading Monday after Mizuho Securities reiterated its bullish stance on the chipmaker, citing strong long-term memory demand and favorable market dynamics.
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh reaffirmed an Outperform rating and a $265 price target on Micron following virtual investor meetings with company executives, including CFO Mark Murphy.
Rakesh emphasized several positive takeaways from the discussions, particularly regarding high bandwidth memory (HBM) demand, which is expected to remain strong through 2026–2027. He noted that roughly 40% of Micron’s DRAM business could experience revenue and margin improvements in the February quarter, supported by firm pricing trends.
The analyst also pointed out that capacity restrictions in China could benefit global memory markets through 2027–2028. According to Rakesh, 30–35% of SK Hynix and Samsung’s DRAM and NAND capacity in China may face delayed upgrades due to regulatory limits, while Chinese DRAM manufacturers remain restricted from using EUV lithography tools.
Rakesh expressed optimism about Micron’s HBM development roadmap, which includes AI-optimized HBM4e, custom HBM solutions, and in-memory computing capabilities. These innovations are expected to boost DRAM content per device and support stronger pricing power in the years ahead.
In the NAND flash segment, Rakesh noted that capital spending remains disciplined even as AI server demand increases for QLC enterprise SSDs (eSSDs). He added that hard disk drives (HDDs) continue to face tight supply, further supporting NAND pricing trends.
Overall, Mizuho’s bullish outlook reinforced confidence in Micron’s position as a key beneficiary of the AI-driven memory cycle, helping lift the stock on expectations of sustained demand growth across both DRAM and NAND markets.