Micron Technology stock drops 7.8% on Apple-China supplier fears, patent disputes

Micron Technology's stock fell 7.8% in morning trading Monday after weekend reports suggested the Trump administration may allow Apple to purchase DRAM from Chinese supplier CXMT and NAND flash from YMTC, raising fears a key customer relationship could shift to Chinese vendors. Lynx Equity Research analyst KC Rajkumar questioned the severity of the reaction, calling the move excessive since CXMT has only qualified for a single low-volume Mac product with weak yields, but the initial shock accelerated selling into the regular session. Samsung's weekend announcement of its 2026 share buyback plan, which disappointed investor expectations, triggered a broad decline in Asian memory stocks that spread to US premarket trading and weighed on Micron as a sympathy effect. Additionally, patent dispute firm Netlist has initiated new ITC and federal court actions targeting Micron's DDR5 RDIMM and MRDIMM products, seeking exclusion orders that could restrict certain memory lines from US import and sale. The Nasdaq fell 1.0% today, reflecting broad weakness among high-risk tech stocks, while the S&P 500 declined 0.4%. Micron's decline significantly exceeded the tech index's fall, underscoring that company-specific factors rather than market-wide forces drove the sharp move. The stock opened at $935.35 and reached a session low of $887.61, near the technical support level around $891.50 that analysts have identified as a key short-term floor. Despite today's sharp pullback, Micron's fundamental position remains robust, with analysts maintaining a buy recommendation and an average price target well above current levels. The company's next quarterly earnings report, expected in late September, is anticipated to show continued strong revenue and profit growth driven by AI memory demand.