Memory stocks surge as Goldman Sachs highlights technical breakouts and light positioning, though Kioxia warns that aggressive NAND price hikes could threaten long-term demand.
Micron shares rose 2% following a Goldman Sachs report identifying the end of the sector's memory downturn and highlighting light hedge fund positioning. The company is also supported by record fiscal Q4 revenue guidance of $50 billion and its inclusion in 24/7 Wall St.'s top 10 stocks to buy list.
Micron is scheduled to report fiscal Q4 2026 results after the market close on September 30.
SanDisk shares climbed 3% as Goldman Sachs noted the stock broke out of its summer downtrend, signaling a potential accumulation phase. The company's outlook remains bullish, with projections that the NAND market will triple to $300 billion by 2026.
SanDisk estimates the NAND market will exceed $300 billion in calendar 2026, representing a 3x year-over-year increase.
SK Hynix led the memory sector rally with a 4% gain after Goldman Sachs flagged the stock for breaking its summer downtrend. As a dominant supplier of HBM for AI accelerators, the company is benefiting from increased U.S. capacity buildouts, including a new Indiana production base.
SK Hynix is the dominant supplier of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators.
Memory chip manufacturers Micron, SanDisk, and SK Hynix rallied Wednesday after Goldman Sachs identified a breakout from summer downtrends. Analysts cited light hedge fund positioning and compressed volatility as key drivers for the sector's outperformance, even as the broader S&P 500 index slipped. Despite the bullish technical outlook, Kioxia's CEO cautioned that NAND price hikes may be reaching a ceiling, adding a layer of complexity to the sector's growth narrative.
The rally is driven by a coordinated sector bid following a positive note from Goldman Sachs, which highlighted technical breakouts and the potential for hedge funds to increase exposure to the lightly-positioned sector.
Cyclical risks persist, including potential shifts in consumer spending and capacity additions. Additionally, Kioxia's CEO warned that further price increases could hurt industry growth, complicating the pricing outlook.