Micron stock falls after Goldman downgrades peer SK Hynix

Investing.com -- Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) stock declined 3.9% in pre-market trading Thursday after Goldman Sachs downgraded peer memory chip manufacturer SK Hynix (KS:000660), causing ripple effects across the semiconductor sector.

Goldman Sachs analyst Giuni Lee downgraded SK Hynix from Buy to Neutral, triggering a 9% drop in the South Korean chipmaker’s shares. The move appears to have sparked concerns about the broader memory chip market, particularly regarding future pricing power and competition in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence applications.

The downgrade specifically cited potential HBM pricing declines in 2026, with Lee noting that "HBM pricing could decline for the first time in 2026, with increasing competition and pricing power gradually shifting to the major customer where Hynix has an outsized exposure."

Goldman’s analyst also expressed concern about SK Hynix’s operating profit outlook for next year, projecting a YoY decline compared to consensus estimates that had anticipated 17% growth. The firm’s 2026 operating profit estimate now sits 19% below consensus expectations.

The negative sentiment toward SK Hynix has spilled over to Micron, which competes in similar memory chip markets and has been expanding its presence in HBM chips for AI applications.

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