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Memory Stocks Sink After Korea Selloff Tied to Iran Energy Fears

Analysts frame the drop as a positioning reset, with Micron’s March 18 earnings the next test.

Overview

  • On Korea’s first session after a holiday, SK Hynix fell 11.5% and Samsung dropped 9.9% as foreigners pulled about $3.7 billion from KOSPI stocks, per Bloomberg.
  • The rout spread to U.S. names, with SanDisk down 8.7%, Micron off 8%, Western Digital sliding 7.2% and Seagate losing 5.8%.
  • Traders linked the move to Iran-related energy risks that lifted LNG prices, raising cost concerns for South Korea’s power-intensive chip fabs.
  • Mizuho’s Jordan Klein said the decline reflects overbought positioning rather than deteriorating fundamentals, while UBS raised its Micron target to $475 and Stifel set a Street-high $550.
  • Micron shares are down roughly 11% over five days and rebounded about 2% Wednesday, with Q2 FY26 results due March 18 and consensus modeling EPS near $8.54 on $18.88 billion of revenue.