Why Are AI Memory and Storage Stocks Micron, SanDisk, WDC, and STX Falling in Pre-Market Today, Sept. 28?
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.AI memory and storage stocks, including Micron, SanDisk, Western Digital, and Seagate, fell in pre-market trading on Sept. 28 due to concerns over slowing AI demand following OpenAI's pause on model training. Additionally, rising oil prices above $106/barrel and higher U.S. Treasury yields added pressure. Despite the decline, Wall Street analysts maintain 'Strong Buy' ratings for these companies, with Western Digital showing the highest upside potential.
Memory and storage stocks are falling in pre-market trading today as investors weigh new concerns about AI demand and a tougher macro backdrop. SanDisk (SNDK) is leading the decline, down 3.48%, while Western Digital (WDC), Seagate Technology (STX), and Micron Technology (MU) are down 2.77%, 2.49%, and 2.19%, respectively.
The selling comes as OpenAI pauses training, evaluation, and inference work with tool use for some of its most capable AI models. The move has raised concerns about the pace of AI development and future spending on the chips and data-center systems needed to run these models.
OpenAI Pause Raises New AI Demand Concerns
The OpenAI pause is raising new questions about the pace of AI infrastructure spending. Investors are watching whether slower model development could reduce demand for advanced chips and computing capacity.
That concern is hitting memory and storage stocks because AI systems need large amounts of memory and storage. Micron supplies DRAM and high-bandwidth memory, while SanDisk, Western Digital, and Seagate are major storage companies.
The market reaction was already clear in Asia. SK Hynix (SKHY) and Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) fell nearly 5% each, while Kioxia declined about 2.5%. The same concern is now spilling into U.S.-listed memory and storage stocks.
Rising Oil Prices Add More Pressure
Higher oil prices and Treasury yields are adding to the selling in AI stocks, including memeory and technology stocks today. Renewed uncertainty around a possible U.S.-Iran truce has pushed Brent crude above $106 a barrel. U.S. Treasury yields have also moved higher, with the 30-year yield above 5.5%.
At the time of writing, Brent crude (CM:BZ) was up 3.75% at $108.23 a barrel, while WTI crude (CM:CL) rose 3.58% to $97.71 a barrel.
Which Memory and Storage Stock Does Wall Street Prefer?
According to the TipRanks Stock Comparison Tool, Micron, SanDisk, Western Digital, and Seagate Technology all have Strong Buy ratings. Western Digital has the highest analyst upside at 49.06%, followed by Micron at 37.06%, SanDisk at 23.48%, and Seagate at 22.29%.