Shares of Micron (NASDAQ:MU) surged more than 17% in premarket trading Thursday after the company delivered a very strong fiscal Q2 print.
The surge in the chipmaker’s shares triggered a broader rally in semiconductor and data storage solution providers, with the likes of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) and Seagate Technology (STX) rising more than 7% and 4%, respectively.
Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) both climbed over 3%.
With the Federal Reserve meeting and GTC both over, investor attention is now directed toward MU, with the company seen “as the savior for Semis after the group was a key laggard past 2 weeks,” analysts at Mizuho said.
“MU earnings/guide was very important for next move in Semis. MU more than delivered and stock looking up 17% in pre, creating a major rush globally for investors (and definitely the machines and passive momo strategies) to start adding long semi exposure again,” they wrote.
Analysts suggest that the combination of the Fed's decision to maintain expected rate cuts and the optimistic statements on growth and demand in the AI sector made by Micron could revitalize interest in the AI semiconductor market, which seemed to be waning recently.
Analysts believe that companies in the memory sector, such as MU itself, SK Hynix, Samsung, WDC, and STX, along with semiconductor capital equipment firms, particularly LRCX and AMAT, are poised for notable short-term rallies.