Micron Technology
shares fell on Monday following news it faces a ban on selling chips to some Chinese companies. It’s could be seen as one of the biggest retaliations so far by China against U.S. efforts to restrict exports of advanced semiconductor technology to the country.
China’s Cyberspace Administration told companies involved in the country’s critical information systems to stop buying chips from U.S.-based
Micron
(ticker: MU), saying they pose a “major security risk,” without elaborating. The ban is needed to protect national security, the agency said on an English-language version of its website.
The move could be a serious hit to business for the largest American chip maker, which generated 25% of its $30.8 billion in revenue from mainland China and Hong Kong in 2022.
Micron shares were down 4.4% in premarket trading on Monday at $65.16. The stock was up 36% this year so far through to Friday’s close.
Back in March, Chinese authorities said they were reviewing Micron, which knocked the shares down by close to 10% at the time. However, Micron’s shares have subsequently recovered on expectations that its South Korean rivals
Samsung Electronics
(005930.Korea) and
SK Hynix
(000660.Korea) will cut production of their memory chips, easing a supply glut in the industry.
Analysts at Susquehanna Financial Group wrote in a research note that Micron might lose some business in China in the near term but would likely be able to redirect its products to other regions. They kept a Positive rating and $90 target price on Micron stock.
“[The] U.S. could reciprocate and not renew export license requests by SK Hynix and Samsung. That could actually have a bigger impact on the memory industry supply than China banning the use of some of Micron’s memory chips,” analysts at Susquehanna, led by Mehdi Hosseini, wrote.
Micron is a relatively easy target for retaliation in exchange for U.S. restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports to China due to the availability of other memory-chip suppliers. However, replacements for chips of the type provided by U.S. companies Intel (INTC), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA) are likely to be harder to find.
Chinese chip manufacturer
Ingenic Semiconductor
(300223.China) closed up 2.8% in Shenzhen on Monday after the news of the Micron decision, while
Semiconductor Manufacturing InternationalCorp
(0981.H.K.), or SMIC, was up 1.2% in Hong Kong.
Micron said it was evaluating the decision and assessing its next steps, and looked forward to engaging in talks with Chinese authorities, reported The Wall Street Journal. Micron didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Barron’s early on Monday.
Write to Adam Clark at [email protected]
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