Micron Shares Rise 5% on Analyst Upgrades Before Earnings

Micron Technology's shares climbed more than 5 percent on Friday, buoyed by a wave of analyst upgrades as the memory chip maker prepares to report its fiscal second-quarter results after the market close on March 18.

The stock rose to around $410 in midday trading, outperforming a broader market decline amid ongoing volatility tied to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Micron's gains reflect renewed investor confidence in the company's position within the artificial intelligence sector, where demand for advanced memory chips continues to drive pricing higher than anticipated.

Several prominent firms revised their price targets upward this week, citing robust trends in the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash markets. Wedbush Securities analyst Matt Bryson maintained an outperform rating while lifting his one-year target from $320 to $500, the highest on Wall Street. Bryson pointed to contract pricing for DRAM and NAND that has exceeded Micron's initial guidance of about 30 percent growth for flash memory in the quarter. "Discussions with industry sources reveal no indication of weakening memory demand," he noted, adding that customer requirements are...