Why Memory Chip Stocks like Micron and Sandisk Dropped on Tuesday – Analysts Weigh In

TLDR

• Memory stocks fell sharply Tuesday, with SanDisk down 8.7% and Micron down 8%, after South Korea’s KOSPI index plunged overnight.
• The sell-off was triggered by rising energy fears linked to Iran conflict tensions, which pushed LNG prices higher.
• South Korean chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung fell over 5% and 11% respectively, dragging US-listed peers down with them.
• Analyst Mizuho’s Jordan Klein said the drop reflects stocks being “overbought,” not a change in fundamentals.
• Micron reports Q2 FY26 earnings on March 18, with UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri forecasting EPS of $85 vs. the $48 consensus.

Memory chip stocks took a hard hit on Tuesday as geopolitical fears surrounding Iran sent energy prices climbing, rattling South Korean semiconductor makers and dragging their US counterparts down with them.

South Korea’s KOSPI index fell sharply overnight as renewed concerns over the Iran conflict pushed natural gas prices higher. South Korea is one of the world’s largest importers of liquefied natural gas, and its semiconductor fabs run around the clock, relying heavily on LNG-fired power plants.

When energy costs rise, operating margins at these fabs come under pressure. US natural gas futures rose about 7% over the past week, but price increases were sharper in Europe. A sustained Iran-related supply disruption could squeeze Korean chipmakers further.

The two most exposed companies are Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Together, they control most of the world’s DRAM supply and a large share of NAND flash production. Both are based and primarily manufactured in South Korea.

SK Hynix fell 11.5% in overnight trading. Samsung dropped 9.9%. Those declines carried over into US markets when trading opened Tuesday.

US Memory Stocks Take the Hit

SanDisk led US losses, falling 8.7% on Tuesday. Micron dropped 8%. Western Digital fell 7.2%, and Seagate slid 5.8%. Lam Research, which supplies equipment to Korean fabs, fell around 5%.

Sandisk Corporation, SNDK

SanDisk’s drop came after a strong recent run. The stock had surged more than 40% in just five trading sessions heading into February, so the pullback came from an elevated base.

Seagate saw the smallest decline among the group. As primarily a hard-disk drive maker, its exposure to NAND flash and Korean fabs is more limited, but it still sold off in what appeared to be a broad “anything storage” trade.

Analysts Say Fundamentals Remain Intact

Mizuho analyst Jordan Klein said after the sell-off that the drop mostly reflects South Korean stocks being “overbought,” not a new negative signal on fundamentals. He said heavy selling in Asia is worth watching for its effect on US memory holdings.

Wall Street’s broader view on memory stocks remains positive. Analysts point to strong AI-driven demand, tight supply, and pricing power as the main drivers of earnings growth going forward.

Capacity expansion, however, faces real limits. Clean-room space is constrained, equipment lead times are long, and qualified engineers are in short supply.

Micron posted $13.64 billion in revenue last quarter, beating estimates of $12.88 billion. It is scheduled to report Q2 FY26 results on March 18.

UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri, a five-star-rated analyst, raised his price target on Micron from $450 to $475. He is forecasting next-year EPS of $85, well above the $48 Wall Street consensus.

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