Micron leads chip recovery, Barron's says, after 20.3% slide

Micron Technology was out in front as chip stocks recovered on Oct. 23, Barron’s reported before the New York open. The outlet also warned that investors stepping in after the drop face a rough ride, with uncertainty around artificial intelligence keeping markets unsettled. Barron’s gave no figures for the move.

The call follows a hard month for the stock. Micron closed at US$856.49 on Oct. 22, down 6.26% on the day. Between the Oct. 2 and Oct. 22 closes, the shares lost 20.32%.

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Worst day in 45 sessions

The Oct. 22 decline was Micron’s biggest one-day loss since Aug. 18, when the stock gave up 7.02%. Forty-five sessions separate the two days.

The October slide has not run in a straight line. One session earlier, on Oct. 21, the shares gained 1.96% to US$913.67, as Pacific Tape reported at the time. The next session wiped out that gain.

A pullback after the strongest quarter in at least six

The selling has come only weeks after Micron filed its latest results on Oct. 9. In the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 3, revenue reached US$54.229 billion. That was 30.81% more than in the prior quarter and 379.27% more than a year earlier. Micron’s quarters end earlier than those of Samsung and SK hynix, as this guide to its fiscal calendar explains.

Operating profit, the income left after running costs, came to US$43.751 billion. It rose 31.31% from the prior quarter and 1,097.35% from a year earlier, the highest in at least six quarters. Net income was US$37.701 billion.

South Korea’s export prices give a rough gauge of the memory market. The DRAM export price index, measured in US dollars with 2020 set at 100, stood at 289.16 in September. It was up 2.26% from August and 247.72% from a year earlier. The index for flash memory, the chips used for storage, eased 0.69% from August to 245.72. These are national export prices, not Micron’s own selling prices.

SK hynix shelves Solidigm listing

Other memory news broke in Asia on the same day. SK hynix abandoned its plan to list its Solidigm unit in the US, and its shares reversed to gain ground in Seoul, according to Barron’s and the Seoul Economic Daily. JoongAng Daily said opposition from shareholders and pressure from regulators lay behind the decision. None of the three outlets linked the move to Micron’s shares.

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Information only, not investment advice.