Micron's stock is seeing its biggest gain in a year, en route to a record market-cap boost

By Emily Bary

Micron has added $43.8 billion to its market value so far on Wednesday

Evercore's C.J. Muse is bullish on Micron's stock, but acknowledged that it's become the subject of fierce debate.

Micron Technology's stock is staging a strong rebound after slipping into bear-market territory last week.

Shares of the memory-chip company (MU) were surging 10.9% in Wednesday trading, after rising 5% in Tuesday action. The Wednesday gain could be Micron's largest since an 18.8% rally on April 9, 2025, if it holds through the close. The stock was leading S&P 500 SPX gainers for the day.

Micron had added $43.8 billion in market capitalization based on intraday action on Wednesday, putting it on course for its biggest one-day haul on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

As investors see the war in Iran potentially edging nearer to completion, that's benefited so-called risk-on trades, including within the memory sector. Sandisk's stock (SNDK) was up 10.5% on the day, while Western Digital shares (WDC) were up 10.6% and Seagate Technology's stock (STX) was up 7.7%.

See also: Micron's stock bounces higher. Is the memory trade back on?

Those moves come after South Korean memory stocks Samsung Electronics (KR:005930) and SK Hynix (KR:000660) rose more than 13% and 10% in Asian trading.

Micron and its rivals have benefited greatly from a memory supply crunch that has sent product prices soaring. But Evercore ISI analyst C.J. Muse noted before Wednesday's open that Micron's stock was trading at less than 3.5 times its expected earnings-per-share potential north of $100 by calendar-year 2027.

His recent meetings with Micron's management team focused on "the secular and durable nature of the business, how high-value-add memory road maps only augment AI capabilities and how this backdrop is driving structural changes to Micron's customer supply relationships," Muse wrote.

Investors, though, seem "dubious about these changes," hence the stock's low valuation on a price-to-earnings basis.

Read: Micron's stock is spectacularly cheap, as these numbers show

While Muse has an overweight rating and top-pick designation on Micron's stock, he acknowledged there could be an intellectual "tug of war" around the stock, as investors weigh improving fundamentals against what some view as a looming sense that the current boom cycle will come crashing down.

The memory market is historically cyclical, and some on Wall Street seem spooked by awareness of past cycles in which oversupply eroded industry profits. But is artificial intelligence a new twist that could structurally improve market dynamics over a sustained period?

"This is an obvious area of debate for investors and one where both sides have very pointed views," Muse wrote. "From Micron's perspective, they definitely see signs that suggest this time is indeed different. AI and the data center are driving the current inflection, making memory more of a strategic asset."

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-Emily Bary

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04-01-26 1311ET