Micron Closes at $798.44 as Nvidia's CEO Exit Rattles AI Memory Trade

Micron (MU) closed Thursday at $798.44, down $12.86 or 1.59 percent, after Nvidia announced that Jensen Huang had resigned as chief executive. The stock had been down almost 5 percent in mid-morning. The damage, in other words, was contained.

The close still holds most of Wednesday's 11.9 percent jump to $811.30, Micron's best single day since 30 July. Reference levels for the trade: $877 above, $725 below.

What happened at Nvidia, and why Micron cared within minutes?

Nvidia said on 12 November that Huang had resigned as president, chief executive and director, effective immediately. The board named finance chief Colette Kress interim CEO while it searches for a successor. Nvidia shares fell sharply in early trading.

Micron makes the high-bandwidth memory that sits next to Nvidia's AI processors, so the reaction was immediate. The Motley Fool had the stock down about 4.8 percent by mid-morning. GuruFocus, via Yahoo Finance, recorded a 3.24 percent drop to $785 earlier in the session.

The sell-off was not Micron's alone. 24/7 Wall St. reported Sandisk, Micron and SK Hynix all sliding around 3 percent in early trading. Sandisk finished harder hit, down 4.11 percent. Micron's loss narrowed to 1.59 percent by the bell.

One data note: Investing.com's table shows an alternative Thursday close of $765.18, while StockAnalysis and MarketBeat agree on $798.44. The consensus figure is the one used here.

Why the recovery matters more than the dip

Wednesday's rally had no Micron-specific news behind it. CoreWeave said its capacity was largely sold out through 2027, and 32 of the 34 other chip companies worth $2 billion or more also rose that day, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Holding above $790 a day after Nvidia's boardroom shake-up suggests buyers still treat the memory story as separate from Nvidia's leadership question. That is the quiet verdict in Thursday's tape.

Where the stock sits after a volatile fortnight

The past two weeks read like a stress test. Micron traded near $877 on 2 November, fell to $656.39 on 5 November after a 17.46 percent single-day drop in the AI sell-off, closed at $725.11 on 10 November, then jumped to $811.30 on 11 November (24/7 Wall St.).

The stock has recovered roughly 22 percent from the 5 November close. It remains about 36 percent below its 52-week high of $1,255.00, with a 52-week low of $192.59.

Micron's own guidance, issued 30 September, gives the fundamental anchor: fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of $61.5 billion, plus or minus $1.5 billion, and non-GAAP EPS of $38.15, plus or minus $1.00.

What do the analysts say?

• Average 12-month target: about $1,562 (24/7 Wall St., 3 November).
• Goldman Sachs: Neutral, with a $1,250 target (TipRanks, 10 November).

Every analyst target sits above the bull case below. The market, at $798, is less sure.

Bull, base and bear levels

These are reference points measured from Thursday's close, not forecasts.

• Bear, $725: The Nvidia leadership story turns into broader doubt about AI spending and Wednesday's rally fully reverses. Anchored to the 10 November close of $725.11, about 9.2 percent below $798.44.
• Base, $780-$830: Micron holds between Thursday's intraday low area and Wednesday's close ahead of Nvidia's results. Anchored to the $785 early print and the $811.30 close.
• Bull, $877: Nvidia's 17 November results confirm AI orders and memory names extend the rebound. Anchored to the 2 November level, about 9.8 percent above $798.44.

What to watch next

Two AI events land in the coming week. Nvidia reports on 17 November, its first results under interim leadership. Anthropic's IPO is reported to price on 18 November and begin trading on 19 November; Micron is among the companies buying shares at the IPO price, having taken part in the $26 billion private placement covered earlier this week.

On the macro side, the US October producer price index arrives Friday at 13:30 GMT. Hot inflation prints have pushed up December rate-hike pricing this week.

Levels to mark: $785 as first support, $811.30 as first resistance.

If Nvidia's numbers on 17 November confirm AI hardware demand, the memory trade gets its next test — and the $877 level its first serious look since early November.