Micron surges more than 30% on week as memory chip rally goes parabolic

Micron Technology shares caught fire this week amid a global shortage of memory chips, with momentum driving the stock on surging enthusiasm across the semiconductor sector.

Shares were up almost 14% to $734 in trading on Friday as of 2:20 p.m. ET. The stock has gained about 35% on the week and more than 80% in the past month.

Micron is on track for its best week since December 2008, when it was trading below $5 a share in the wake of the Great Recession. The company’s market cap is currently above $820 billion, according to LSEG.

Micron isn’t alone among the chipmakers. Shares of AMD were up 24% on the week as the company’s market cap crossed the $700 billion threshold.

Intel has jumped 24% on the week and has more than doubled over the past month in a widely touted comeback for the CPU maker.

Demand for memory chips is emerging as the hallmark of the current phase of the AI buildout, driven by total capex from the hyperscalers that could surpass $1 trillion by the end of next year, according to Bank of America and Evercore.

While graphics processing units (GPUs) have been the hardware focus of the AI buildout so far, memory, storage and CPUs have been increasingly stealing the limelight.

Amid the shortage of memory chips, prices and margins for memory makers have been widening, while hyperscalers have bemoaned cost increases for end-user goods and services.

DRAM and NAND are the two types of memory that are most in demand. DRAM is faster and more finnicky while flash-based NAND is a bit slower and more reliable. Both are essential for AI processing.

Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix together produce more than 90% of the world’s DRAM, according to multiple equity research reports.

Like Micron, the South Korean memory chip makers have been on a tear. Samsung joined the trillion-dollar valuation club this week along with companies like Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft.

SK Hynix is fielding a host of offers from global tech firms who want to invest in new, memory-dedicated production lines to ramp up output, Reuters reported on Friday.

One pitch was an equipment financing deal from the the company’s customers related to ultraviolet lithography machines, the news agency reported.

“MU remains well positioned across the memory landscape with leading edge DRAM nodes helping drive cost-downs year-over-year, while NAND sees increasing layer counts drive better costs and increase wafer capacity,” Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh wrote in a research report this week.

Micron has been taking a bigger share of retail trading in general over the past few months, researchers say. Net buying picked up to its highest level in two years in mid-April, according to Vanda Research.

That comes even as overall stock-buying by retail investors in recent months has been slightly softer compared to the past few years, said Viraj Patel, strategist with Vanda in comments to CNBC on Friday. “So arguably, Micron is commanding a much bigger share of retail flow and attention,” he added.