Micron Technology (MU)

[realfast95]

Shares of Micron Technology ( MU) can keep rocking in the new year, according to Hans Mosesmann of Rosenblatt Securities, who reiterates a Buy rating on the stock, and a $75 price target, writing that the "the current memory industry" is " the best in semiconductor history," marked by duration that's longer than ever, and by the very "nature" of the business, which is increasingly "content-driven," and a structure that is " oligopolistic."

Mosesmann doesn't refer specifically to Morgan Stanley, but he is clearly thinking about the research three weeks ago from the firm's Katy Huberty, who had warned of a decline in NAND pricing in 2018 as a reason to cut her rating on the shares of fellow NAND producer Western Digital ( WDC).

Mosesmann writes that "resumption of normal NAND price declines on its own does not signal a memory cycle peak in our opinion as some observers suggest."

Rather, Mosesmann sees a more "balanced" 2018 for NAND and DRAM:

We expect DRAM supply/demand to remain balanced-to-tight in 1H18 while NAND resumes a more benign supply/demand dynamic where pricing declines mid-single digits per quarter due to price elasticity stimulating demand. We note that the ASP strength in NAND over the past couple of quarters was unhealthy and unsustainable due to 3D NAND manufacturing challenges and inefficiencies associated with 2D to 3D NAND transitions.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/micron-memory-hasnt-yet-peaked-says-rosenblatt-1513637365