Why Are Micron Technology Shares Sliding On Monday?

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares continued their downward trajectory Monday. This follows a volatile week triggered by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG). Google recently unveiled TurboQuant, an AI memory compression algorithm. The tool cuts memory requirements by six times. This development rattled the consensus AI trade of 2026. Peers like SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) and Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC) also faced selling pressure. Analysts Debate “Demand Destruction” vs. Efficiency Analysts remain divided on the long-term impact. Wells Fargo analyst Andrew Rocha noted TurboQuant is directly attacking the cost curve. However, Bank of America Securities analyst Vivek Arya maintained a $500 price target. Arya argued that efficiency gains often increase total consumption. He stated the 6 times improvement likely leads to a “6x increase in accuracy and/or context length, rather than 6x decrease in memory.” Dividend Deadline Provides Technical Support Despite the technical selloff, today marks a key deadline for income investors. Monday is the ex-dividend date for Micron’s 15 cents per share quarterly payout. Investors must hold the stock by today’s close to receive the April 15 payment. Supply Constraints Remain Strategic Factor CEO Sanjay Mehrotra previously called memory a “strategic asset” during the second-quarter earnings call. He noted that Micron can only supply “about 50% to two-thirds” of requirements for key customers. Technical Analysis Micron is trading 15.4% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA), but 3.3% above its 100-day SMA, a setup that often signals a cooling phase inside a still-intact intermediate uptrend. Shares are up 296.56% over the past 12 months, and the stock is positioned closer to its 52-week high of $471.34 than its 52-week low of $61.54. RSI is at 38.16, which sits in neutral territory. Meanwhile, MACD is at -5.1875 and below its signal line at 4.1737. Key Resistance: $404.50 Key Support: $332.50 MU Stock Price Activity: Micron Technology shares were down 3.78% at $343.73 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo by Below the Sky via Shutterstock