MU, SNDK, WDC, STX: Memory Chip Stocks Retreat Amid Google's TurboQuant Threat, Broader Tech Selloff

• Memory stocks declined sharply in March.
• Last week, Google announced a new compression technology that might reduce the memory demand for AI model computation.
• Stocktwits sentiment MU is ‘extremely bullish,’ unchanged over the past week.

Micron Technology shares fell nearly 10% on Monday, with peers SanDisk, Seagate Technology, and Western Digital also seeing broad declines, signaling a sharp pullback in what had until recently been one of the market’s hottest-performing sectors.

With Monday’s selloff, Micron is now down about 30% since its blowout March 18 earnings report. SanDisk and Western Digital fell 7% and 9%, respectively, while Seagate dropped 4.6%, putting all three on track to end the month in the red after several months of gains.
 

While all sectors are under pressure from elevated oil prices and uncertainty stemming from the U.S.-Iran conflict, tech stocks have emerged as the weakest link. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS), which tracks the Magnificent Seven group of equities, is down 8% for the month, while Microsoft shares are heading for their worst quarterly performance since the 2008 financial crisis.

Investors were already puzzled by Micron’s sharp post-earnings decline despite strong results, before sentiment took another hit last week when Google’s new compression technology triggered a fresh selloff in memory chip stocks.

Last Tuesday, Google researchers announced a new compression algorithm called TurboQuant, which they say can shrink the memory requirement for AI models by at least six times, “all with zero accuracy loss.” The development – seen as potentially dampening future demand for memory chips – also dragged down shares of Korean giants SK Hynix and Samsung last week.

Retail, Analyst View On MU, Peers

Retail traders are betting on a rebound in Micron shares and appear to be favouring it over peers. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for MU has held up in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone since the start of last week; the sentiment was ‘bearish’ for SanDisk and Western Digital, and ‘neutral’ for Seagate early Tuesday.

A trader said they believe Micron is relatively less affected by TurboQuant: “An early review of the process suggests that not all memory will be affected equally. NAND flash memory will feel the brunt of the impact, while DRAM and HBM will be largely unaffected.” 

“That means the news is worse for Sandisk, as nearly all the company's revenue comes from NAND. Micron has much lower exposure to the NAND market, with roughly 21% of its revenue from flash memory in Q2,” they said.

Many were increasing their positions. “32% decline in a week with A++ earnings statement is seriously wild. Bought more,” said a user, while another wrote that they won’t see before the stock hits $700.

Analysts largely remain bullish on the longer term, noting the sold-out 2026 HBM supply. Currently, 38 of 43 analysts recommend ‘Buy’ or higher, and five recommend ‘Hold,’ per Koyfin. Their average price target of $527.60 implies an over 64% upside to the stock’s last close.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read Next: PLTR Stock Loses Over 12% In Three Days — Is The Defense Boost Over?