Banks Raise Micron Targets as Shorts Build Before Earnings

Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Micron Technology to $1,500 from $1,000 on June 17. At least five other banks increased targets in the run-up to Micron’s June 24 earnings: TD Cowen raised its target to $1,500 from $660 on June 15, Cantor Fitzgerald moved to $1,500 from $700, RBC Capital set a $1,200 target, Wolfe Research set $1,250, and Citi raised its target to $1,200 from $840. Each firm cited rising demand for memory used in artificial intelligence workloads.

Analysts and research teams cited a widening gap between demand for AI-driven DRAM and the industry’s ability to add capacity, a gap they project will persist through 2028. DRAM is the fast working memory that runs AI models. The tightest shortage is in high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, a premium stacked memory placed next to AI processors. At a JPMorgan conference, Micron’s operations chief told attendees that “HBM consumes more than three times as many wafers per bit as other memory types.” That higher wafer use makes HBM slower and more expensive to scale.

Micron is one of three major HBM suppliers and the only U.S.-based manufacturer among them. Market measures cited by analysts show heavy investor interest in the stock: Micron’s relative strength versus the SOXX semiconductor index was reported at 218.7, and Chaikin Money Flow for Micron read +0.142, an indicator interpreted as recent institutional accumulation.

On-chain analytics firm Nansen shows crypto smart-money traders holding a near-term short against Micron worth about $21 million, the second-largest short among major chip names behind Nvidia. These traders often use perpetual contracts to bet on fast price moves. Micron’s shares have risen more than 250% year-to-date.

Technical indicators noted by traders show Micron trading near $1,058 after the rally. The stock broke out of a bull-flag pattern on June 11, though follow-through buying volume has cooled. Traders identified $1,074 as the level that would signal renewed upside, with $1,126 as the next local high that could open a path to $1,199 and $1,293. On the downside, $1,023 has acted as key support and is where the crypto short appears concentrated; a decisive break below that could put $959 in view.

Micron will report results for the May quarter on June 24. The earnings release will provide updated figures on revenue mix, DRAM and HBM pricing trends, and capital spending plans that affect future supply. Bank analysts wrote that they expect AI-related memory demand to persist and to lift Micron’s earnings over multiple years.