Micron joins trillion-dollar club as UBS rewrites memory chip valuation

Micron shares rose 3 per cent on Wednesday, extending a record-breaking run that has seen the memory chipmaker’s market capitalisation exceed $1 trillion. The rally followed a surge on Tuesday that pushed the stock past the $886.74 level, securing its position as the 11th-largest US public company by market value, ranking behind Eli Lilly and ahead of Walmart.

The catalyst for the move was a note from UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri, who tripled his price target to $1,625, a Street high. The new target implies roughly 115 per cent upside from Micron’s Friday close of $751. Arcuri argued that the artificial intelligence boom has structurally changed the memory chip market, providing greater visibility into demand and altering the traditional cyclical valuation that has long defined the sector.

Historically, Micron has traded as a cyclical stock, with investors wary of boom-and-bust pricing cycles in DRAM and NAND memory. However, Arcuri suggested that the sustained demand from AI infrastructure is smoothing out earnings paths. He urged the market to apply a more normal valuation multiple as evidence mounts that the AI-driven shift is permanent rather than transient.

The broader semiconductor sector participated in the rally, with gains recorded across Marvell Technology, ON Semiconductor, Advanced Micro Devices, Lam Research, Intel, and Qualcomm. Marvell Technology entered the week with 10 consecutive weekly gains, while both Micron and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index have climbed in seven of the past eight weeks.

Looking ahead, technical analysis indicates that bulls must hold the $800 price level to avoid a false break to the upside. The next major support level sits around $665. If the $1,625 target is realised, Micron’s market capitalisation would reach approximately $1.8 trillion, potentially elevating it to the seventh-largest US company, trailing only Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Broadcom.