MU Stock Is Up 854% Over The Past Year — Barclays Sees It Soaring Another 28% After Hitting $1 Trillion Market Cap

• Barclays price target hike for MU stock comes after the company hit $1 trillion in market capitalization on Tuesday, following a 19% surge.
• The firm stated that memory and storage remain its preferred areas within the semiconductor sector outside of AI accelerators, citing favorable supply-demand dynamics and continued pricing strength.
• Barclays expects the current imbalance between supply and demand to persist through 2027, supporting further upside in memory pricing.

Shares of Micron Technology Inc. (MU) are up nearly 854% over the past 12 months, but analysts at Barclays expect the stock to rally further this year.

According to TheFly, Barclays hiked its price target for Micron to $1,175 from $675, implying an upside potential of about 28% from the current levels. The firm maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating on the stock.

Barclays price target hike for MU stock comes after the company hit $1 trillion in market capitalization on Tuesday, following a 19% surge.

Micron shares were up more than 2% in Wednesday’s opening trade. MU was the top trending ticker on Stocktwits at the time of writing.

Why Is Barclays Bullish On MU?

Barclays stated that memory and storage remain its preferred areas within the semiconductor sector outside of AI accelerators, citing favorable supply-demand dynamics and continued pricing strength.

The firm expects the current imbalance between supply and demand to persist through 2027, supporting further upside in memory pricing.

For hard disk drive manufacturers, Barclays sees the greatest opportunity for pricing gains emerging later this year as new contract negotiations take effect and next-generation products enter the market.

According to a CNBC report, the firm believes that as Micron signs more Strategic Customer Agreements, it will provide details on the financial hooks and potential prepayment structures it is contracting.

“When these details come to light, we see it as a positive catalyst and another step forward in the sustainability of this memory cycle,” the firm added, while stating that an industry-wide transition toward higher-capacity 40 terabyte drives should further improve product mix and strengthen pricing power for hard disk drive suppliers.

According to Koyfin data, 39 of the 44 analysts covering Micron rate the stock a ‘Buy’ or ‘Strong Buy,’ while four recommend holding the shares and one has a ‘Sell’ rating.

IDC Makes The Bull Case For MU

Industry research firm IDC recently highlighted a favorable outlook for Micron and the broader memory-chip sector, pointing to robust demand from hyperscale data center operators.

According to IDC, hyperscalers are increasingly purchasing higher-performance, higher-cost memory products and are willing to pay premium prices to secure supply amid the AI infrastructure buildout. The firm projects global NAND flash revenue will reach $174 billion in 2026, marking nearly 139% growth from the prior year.

IDC also noted that pricing strength is becoming more widespread across the NAND market. Enterprise solid-state drive (SSD) prices have risen significantly as hyperscalers lock up available supply, tightening inventories and reducing availability for consumer and OEM customers.

How Did Retail Investors React To MU Stock?

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Micron trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory with message volumes at ‘high’ levels.

One bullish user believes MU stock could touch $1,150 to $1,200 by the end of this week.

MU stock is up 222% year-to-date and 854% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is up 27% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is up 40%.

The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) is up 171% during this period, while the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) is up 59%.

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