Micron's Options Volume Jumps as Stock Slips Even After Earnings Beat: Options Chatter

Shares slipped 2.9% amid signs that speculators and investors could be cashing in gains after the stock almost doubled this year through Tuesday, before Micron released its fiscal fourth quarter results that also surpassed Wall Street expectations.

“Micron's guidance for continuing rapid growth far exceeded our estimates, and implies a torrid rate of artificial intelligence chip investment continuing,” Morningstar analyst William Kerwin wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. “Shares still look overvalued to us, considering longer-term memory cyclicality.”

While he raised his fair value estimate on Micron to $150, from $120, the latest figure is still $10 below the current stock price, even after Wednesday’s slide. The stock rallied as the company delivered earnings that blew past estimates for 10 straight quarters, with quarterly revenue almost tripling from $4 billion two years ago.

Call options that give their holder the right to buy Micron shares at $170 by Friday attracted the biggest volume as holders closed out their position after the stock declined further below that strike price, boosting the odds that the contract will be worthless when they expire in two days.

Volume on those calls soared to 34,320 contracts, more than double the open interest.

“Micron closed out a record-breaking fiscal year with exceptional Q4 performance, underscoring our leadership in technology, products, and operational execution,” CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a press release late Tuesday. “In fiscal 2025, we achieved all-time highs across our data center business and are entering fiscal 2026 with strong momentum and our most competitive portfolio to date.”

The company's cloud memory business unit posted a $4.54 billion revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter, with a gross margin of 59%. Revenue at its core data center business unit reached $1.58 billion, with gross margin of 41%.

“As the only U.S.-based memory manufacturer, Micron is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the AI opportunity ahead,” Micron’s CEO said.