Will Elon Musk’s unexpected praise and a tight supply outlook push Micron Technology AI infrastructure to new record highs next week?
How Did Micron Stock Move This Week?
Micron Technology experienced a highly volatile but ultimately positive week. Over the week, the stock climbed from Monday’s opening price of 885.57 to close on Friday at 920.95, representing a weekly gain of +4.0%. Along the way, the stock reached a weekly high of 1011.77 and touched a weekly low of 858.90.
The week was characterized by massive daily swings. On Tuesday, the stock surged +12.2% as the broader artificial intelligence trade rebounded strongly. This bullish momentum continued into Thursday, which saw a +3.2% gain fueled by strong sector-wide demand and the launch of new leveraged memory ETFs. However, Friday brought a sharp reversal of -7.0%, triggered by a broader tech sell-off following Alphabet’s earnings, which raised concerns about the immediate cost of AI infrastructure.
Is the Micron Technology AI Boom Sustainable?
A central debate this week focused on whether the current pricing power of memory manufacturers can last. Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group (which controls rival SK Hynix), warned that current memory prices are “abnormal” and must normalize. However, he admitted that demand will continue to outstrip supply through 2027. Wall Street analysts share this tight-supply outlook. KeyBanc analyst John Vinh reiterated an Overweight rating and a 1,750 price target on Micron, stating that industry conditions are unlikely to loosen before 2028 due to delayed cleanroom capacity expansions. This supply-demand imbalance keeps the long-term outlook for Micron Technology AI infrastructure highly favorable.
Why Did Elon Musk Thank Micron?
Another major catalyst emerged during Tesla‘s second-quarter earnings call. CEO Elon Musk unexpectedly thanked Micron for allocating precious memory supply to the electric vehicle giant, noting that memory pricing has become “pretty insane” due to surging demand. As Tesla ramps up its custom AI chips and capital expenditures, securing advanced high-bandwidth memory from Micron has become a critical bottleneck. Furthermore, former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli highlighted that Micron is rapidly closing its profit gap with NVIDIA, modeling massive earnings through 2027 based on potential gross margins reaching 90% due to AI-driven DRAM cannibalization.
What Should Investors Watch Next Week?
Next week will be pivotal for memory chipmakers as the second-quarter earnings season intensifies. Investors will closely monitor results from Microsoft on July 29 and Amazon on July 30. Following Alphabet’s recent reports, Wall Street is highly focused on whether these hyperscalers will also signal expanded capital expenditure on data centers. Any confirmation of increased spending will likely act as a major catalyst for Micron, validating the multi-year tailwinds predicted by Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore, who emphasized that memory remains a binding constraint for AI training.
Related Coverage
For deeper insights into the memory sector, read about how the recent market dynamics affected the stock in Micron Memory Chips Plunge 8% in Broader Tech Sell-Off Shock, which examines if unprecedented demand can save the sector from a cyclical downturn. Additionally, explore how other chipmakers are navigating these headwinds in AMD AI Strategy: Stock Drops 3.2% Despite Massive Upgrades, highlighting the broader challenges in the AI hardware expansion.
I’d actually also like to thank Micron for giving us memory allocation. Memory pricing has become pretty insane.— Elon Musk
Despite the late-week pullback, Micron’s underlying fundamentals remain exceptionally strong. The company’s critical role in the global supply chain, highlighted by endorsements from tech leaders and bullish analyst targets, positions it as a premier beneficiary of the ongoing hardware buildout. As big tech earnings continue to roll out, investors should view short-term volatility as a potential entry point into the structural growth story of Micron Technology AI technologies.
