Shares of Micron Technology (MU 2.92%) were moving higher again on Monday as the memory chip specialist continued to rally off a strong earnings report, Barron's deemed it an AI winner, and several other AI stocks moved higher today, even as the broad market was lower.
As of 12:04 p.m. ET today, Micron was up 7.8%.
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Micron rides the AI wave
Micron is now up more than 23% since it reported fiscal second-quarter earnings last week that were much better than expected. It had been struggling with a secular downturn in the semiconductor sector, but last week's report made it clear that the company is turning the page on those challenges as it said that AI demand and tight supply accelerated its return to profitability.
Revenue jumped 58% to $5.82 billion, and it reported an adjusted profit of $476 million, or $0.42 per share, well above a loss of $2.08 billion in the quarter a year ago. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said, "We believe Micron is one of the biggest beneficiaries in the semiconductor industry of the multi-year opportunity enabled by AI."
What seemed to drive Micron stock higher again today was a bullish endorsement in Barron's over the weekend as the newsletter called it one of the best and least appreciated long-term opportunities in the AI boom.
Several other AI stocks were moving higher today, including Super Micro Computer and Arm Holdings, a sign that investor enthusiasm for the sector is persisting.
What's next for Micron
Looking ahead to the fiscal third quarter, management expects the recovery to continue, calling for $6.6 billion in revenue, up 76% from the quarter a year ago, and it sees gross margins improving by 24% to 27%, up from 18.5% in the second quarter, a positive sign.
While much of the spoils of the early AI boom have gone to Nvidia, investors seem to be realizing that there will be multiple winners among chip stocks, and Micron is shaping up to be one of them.
