Memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology (MU) experienced a significant surge of 21% yesterday, reaching a market valuation of $1 trillion, aided by an upgraded price target from UBS. This marks a remarkable increase from just a $70 billion valuation a year ago.
Similarly, South Korea's SK Hynix saw its shares rise by 9.3% in Seoul on Wednesday, also surpassing the $1 trillion mark in market capitalization. Over the past year, its stock has skyrocketed by more than 1,000%. Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics, another industry peer, also achieved a $1 trillion valuation.
The surge in memory stocks is closely tied to the ongoing AI boom, with investors anticipating that chip shortages—and the associated pricing power—will persist until 2028.
In premarket trading on Wednesday, Micron's shares gained an additional 8%, contributing to a 0.9% increase in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index.
Negative Sentiment Persists
In contrast, Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a decline of 1.5% in the past 24 hours, currently priced at $75,800. The ongoing enthusiasm surrounding AI-related stocks is drawing attention and investment away from the cryptocurrency markets, which, despite some recovery from the lows seen in early February, continue to suffer from negative sentiment.
Analyst James Check remarked earlier this week, "Nobody cares about bitcoin right now ... and you just love to see it. Bitcoin sentiment is in the absolute gutter, and the bears are measurably the most confident they have been in a long time." He added, "Anger, annoyance, disappointment, it's all happening right now."