Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) to $450.00 from $350.00 on Wednesday and maintained an Overweight recommendation on the memory-chip maker's shares. The new target exceeds Micron's most recently reported trading price of $373.25 and sits alongside a generally bullish analyst consensus, which the article notes averages 1.56 on a scale where that reading corresponds to a Strong Buy.
The investment bank pointed to a combination of rising DDR5 spot prices and ongoing supply shortages as central to its more optimistic outlook. Morgan Stanley observed that DDR5 spot pricing has climbed roughly 30% year-to-date and now stands about 130% above January contract prices, a dynamic that it said has materially supported Micron's recent financial performance.
Those pricing trends coincided with substantial top-line growth for Micron. The company posted revenue of $42.31 billion over the last twelve months, representing a 45.43% increase versus the prior comparable period, a figure the bank referenced in framing its forecast.
Morgan Stanley also noted that mainstream DRAM contract pricing could still expand materially - potentially doubling again - while remaining more than 10% below current spot levels, which continue to move higher. Contract prices have already climbed about 86% since December, the firm said, and it signaled confidence that mainstream prices may reach "high teens ASP per GB" levels as buyers who deferred purchases begin paying near those rates.
Looking ahead, Morgan Stanley expects the severe DRAM shortage to persist. The bank projects that supply growth in 2026 will be insufficient to ease market tightness, a condition that could keep upward pressure on prices through the year.
Analyst activity and competitor targets
Micron has attracted a series of upward revisions from other brokerages in recent weeks, reflecting what those firms describe as strengthening supply-and-demand dynamics in memory markets. The article lists price-target moves that include Deutsche Bank to $500, UBS to $450, Mizuho to $480 and HSBC to $500; each firm flagged faster DRAM rallies, improving pricing dynamics across DRAM and NAND, or broad pricing tailwinds in legacy memory segments as reasons for their adjustments.
Separately, Micron is preparing to announce a new investment in manufacturing capacity in Singapore, with a focus on NAND flash memory production. That planned capacity addition was cited alongside the analyst moves as part of the backdrop supporting a more positive outlook for the company.
Bottom line
Morgan Stanley's target increase reflects a view that accelerating DDR5 spot pricing, widening contract-price gains and constrained supply will continue to favor Micron's revenue and margin trajectory. Multiple peer analysts have adjusted their own targets higher, and the company is advancing capacity investments in NAND, all of which the bank and other firms say support a constructive near- to mid-term outlook for Micron.