You Missed Micron’s 811% Run — but There’s Still 40% More Upside, According to Wall Street

The AI boom has created a small group of companies that sit at the center of an enormous spending wave. Most investors immediately think of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) when they hear that story. Yet memory chips have quietly become just as critical to AI infrastructure as GPUs. 

Every AI server requires massive amounts of DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and supply remains tight even after a year of record production. That shift has transformed Micron Technology (NYSE:MU) from a cyclical memory manufacturer into one of the market’s biggest AI winners. The stock has already delivered extraordinary gains, but Wall Street believes the story may not be finished.

An 811% Gain Doesn’t Mean The Opportunity Is Gone

Micron opened trading on this date one year ago at approximately $118 per share. Twelve months on and the stock trades around $1,075, an 811% return that turned a $10,000 investment into more than $91,000.

Most investors would assume that kind of move leaves little upside remaining. TD Cowen disagrees. The firm raised its price target on Micron to $1,500 from $660 while maintaining its Buy rating. That target implies roughly 40% upside from current levels. The firm’s analyst team pointed to stronger-than-expected AI demand and a longer period of favorable memory pricing as the key drivers behind the increase.

Notably, TD Cowen is not alone. Cantor Fitzgerald also carries a $1,500 target, while Susquehanna has gone even higher with a $1,750 target.

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The Memory Cycle Looks Different This Time

Memory has historically been one of the semiconductor industry’s most cyclical businesses. Prices rise, manufacturers expand capacity, supply catches up, and prices fall. That’s the pattern investors have seen for decades.

The current cycle contains two key differences. First, TD Cowen now expects pricing strength to extend through the second half of 2027. Previously, analysts expected a digestion period to begin during the first half of 2027, but stronger CPU demand and continued AI infrastructure deployments have pushed that timeline further out.

Second, analysts increasingly view AI as a structural shift rather than a temporary demand surge.

A cyclical upswing eventually returns to prior demand levels. A structural shift, though, raises the baseline. AI data centers need dramatically more memory per server than traditional computing workloads. Even if growth slows, the floor for future demand may remain far above where it stood before the AI era.

Bank of America recently argued that memory supply elasticity is structurally lower because of capital, packaging, and power constraints across the industry. Simply, supply can’t respond as quickly as it did during prior cycles.

Micron’s Competitive Position Keeps Improving

Only three companies produce advanced memory at scale: Micron, SK hynix, and Samsung. Micron trails its industry peers — not by much, in some sectors — but that concentrated industry structure gives Micron more pricing power than it enjoyed in past cycles.

Management has also been signing longer-term customer agreements, creating greater revenue visibility than memory investors traditionally received. Analysts estimate Micron could generate approximately $150 per share in earnings during 2027 if current trends continue.

Surprisingly, Micron still trades at valuation levels that assume memory remains highly cyclical. Several analysts argue that if AI-driven demand proves more durable, investors may continue assigning a higher earnings multiple to the stock.

Key Takeaway

In short, Micron’s 811% gain over the past year doesn’t automatically mean the opportunity has passed.

The bull case rests on two simple ideas: memory pricing may remain strong longer than expected, and AI has permanently increased demand for advanced memory products. TD Cowen’s new $1,500 price target reflects both assumptions.

Granted, memory remains a cyclical industry beyond AI and investors should expect volatility. Yet Micron today looks very different from the commodity memory company many investors remember. With AI servers consuming unprecedented amounts of DRAM and HBM, the company has become a critical supplier to one of the fastest-growing technology markets in history.

If Wall Street’s forecasts prove accurate, Micron’s remarkable run may have another chapter left to write.