MU Vs SNDK Vs SKHYV Vs STX: Retail Traders Pick Clear Memory Stock Winner Over Next Year

• Booming demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators has driven strong pricing, record earnings expectations, and optimism over sustained AI infrastructure spending.
• Micron remains the top name that most traders are eyeing in the current scenario.
• SK Hynix’s entry in the U.S. market last week has altered the landscape, giving U.S. investors more options.

With SK Hynix jumping into the fold, the U.S. memory trade has become even more interesting and high-stakes than before. 

With a tech rotation underway and a pullback in memory stocks from June highs, alongside volatility from daily updates on the U.S.-Iran standoff, investors are closely watching the market to be on the right horse and at the right time.

Retail Traders Favor Micron

Based on an ongoing Stocktwits poll, Micron remains the top name that the majority of the traders are eying in the current scenario. About 57% of 2,400 who voted said they expect the U.S. memory chipmaker to emerge as the best performer in 2027. 

Micron stock has more than tripled this year as booming demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators has driven strong pricing, record earnings expectations, and optimism over sustained AI infrastructure spending.

The rally has also been fueled by tight supply, Micron gaining HBM market share alongside SK Hynix and Samsung, and investors expecting the memory upcycle to extend into 2027 and beyond.

In the poll, 21% of traders picked SK Hynix, which listed its shares on Nasdaq last Friday, and 18% picked SanDisk, the stock with the most gains in the group. Seagate was in fourth spot with 4% of the votes.
 

“$MU bullish trading patterns popping on $SKHYV as the trading day winds down. Pretty safe to say the bottom is in,” a trader said, referring to the selloff on Monday after the U.S.-Iran resumed military strikes again, causing jitters across global markets.

Analysts appear to concur. They have an average price target of $1,486 on MU, which implies a 57% upside from the stock’s closing price on Monday, the highest in the group. Micron currently trades at 6.5 times its forward earnings, the cheapest among peers.

Source: Koyfin

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment was ‘bullish’ for SNDK, ‘neutral’ for MU and SKHYV, and ‘bearish’ for STX.

Companies See Acute Shortages, High Demand

SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said the global memory industry is heading for its worst-ever supply shortage ​in 2027, forecasting that demand for memory will continue to exceed the company's ability to produce it well into the next decade despite aggressive capacity expansion.

Micron recently added $50 billion to its $200 billion in U.S. capital expenditures, targeting projects in New York, Idaho, and Virginia. The spending will carry through 2035 and support Micron’s goal of making 40% of its dynamic random access memory products in the US a decade from now.

SK Hynix’s Blockbuster Listing

The South Korean memory giant raised $26.5 billion by issuing 177.9 million American depositary receipts (ADRs) priced at $149 each last week. 

The share sale topped the $25 billion raised by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in 2014 and was the second biggest U.S. stock sale on record after SpaceX’s $75 billion offering last month. 

The company’s Seoul-listed stock has already more than tripled this year, boosted by insatiable global demand for its chips and hardware used in data centers.

Amid surging investor interest, the company’s listing gives U.S. investors an alternative – and a benchmark – to Micron and other leading memory chipmakers, whose shares have also posted remarkable gains over the past year.

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

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