Got $2,000? 2 Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Before the Memory Supercycle Peaks.

By Geoffrey Seiler – Mar 26, 2026 at 3:45AM ESTKey PointsMicron Technology is benefiting from surging DRAM demand and prices, and is looking to lock in longer-term contracts.Sandisk is the best pure play for the NAND cycle and has a big new opportunity with high bandwidth flash memory.If you're looking to play the memory supercycle before it peaks, two of the best stocks to invest in are Micron Technology (MU 3.34%) and Sandisk (SNDK 3.50%). Let's look at what each of these AI stocks has to offer and why a small investment, like $1,000 in each, could make sense. Image source: Getty Images. 1. Micron Micron is one of the three big producers of DRAM (dynamic random-access memory), along with Korean companies SK Hynix and Samsung. About 80% of its revenue comes from DRAM, and the rest from NAND (flash) memory. The DRAM market is currently in short supply due to the rise of high bandwidth memory (HBM), a specialized form of DRAM. HBM demand is through the roof because, in order for graphics processing units (GPUs) and other AI chips to perform optimally, they need to be packaged with this type of memory. Since HBM comes with strong unit economics, and demand is so high, it's not surprising that the big DRAM makers have turned most of their focus toward HBM production. This, in turn, has left the entire DRAM market undersupplied. Adding to the constraints is that HBM is much more complex to manufacture and requires upward of three times the wafer capacity as normal DRAM. ExpandNASDAQ: MUMicron TechnologyToday's Change(-3.34%) $-13.22Current Price$382.31Key Data PointsMarket Cap$431BDay's Range$371.56 - $388.9252wk Range$61.54 - $471.34Volume2.2MAvg Vol37MGross Margin58.54%Dividend Yield0.12% The result is that DRAM prices have skyrocketed. This has led to Micron's revenue surging and its gross margins rapidly expanding, as the company struggles to keep up with demand. Last quarter, its revenue climbed nearly threefold to $23.9 billion, while its gross margin jumped to 74.4%, up from 36.8% a year ago and 56% the prior quarter. There is no sign of Micron's operational momentum slowing, with the company projecting gross margins to rise to 81% and issuing revenue guidance that blew past estimates. Analysts at Wedbush predict that DRAM prices will be up between 130% to 150% in the first half of the year compared to calendar fourth-quarter levels. Despite these impressive results, Micron's stock is cheap, trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 4 times fiscal 2027 analyst estimates. The reason is that the memory market has historically been very cyclical, with big boom and bust stretches. The construction of AI infrastructure appears to add a driver to the story, and Micron is beginning to seek longer contracts. It has already signed a five-year deal, which is a departure from its typical one-year agreements, and gives the company more visibility. 2. Sandisk After being spun off from Western Digital, Sandisk is the only pure play in the current NAND supercycle. While DRAM is used for short-term memory applications because of its speed, NAND flash chips tend to be used for long-term storage. Like DRAM, NAND has been a notoriously cyclical business, and the industry found itself with negative gross margins just a few years ago following a pull-forward in electronics demand stemming from the pandemic. This led many memory makers to cut flash memory production and turn their focus toward DRAM. Shortly afterward, though, the rise of AI led to soaring demand for huge high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) that use NAND to store training data. This has created a similar dynamic to DRAM, with demand rising and prices soaring. And given the strong unit economics of HBM, the big memory makers have not been in a rush to dramatically increase NAND capacity. ExpandNASDAQ: SNDKSandiskToday's Change(-3.50%) $-24.62Current Price$677.86Key Data PointsMarket Cap$100BDay's Range$638.00 - $687.2252wk Range$27.89 - $777.60Volume64KAvg Vol19MGross Margin34.81% Last quarter, Sandisk saw its revenue climb 61%, led by a 76% jump in data center sales. Its gross margins rose from 32.3% last year to 50.9%, and management guided for revenue to nearly triple next quarter and for gross margins to expand to a range of 64.9% to 66.9%. Wedbush also noted that it sees a similar rise in NAND prices, as it does for DRAM prices, which points to stronger growth and margins ahead. Sandisk trades at double the multiple of Micron at a forward P/E of 8 times fiscal 2027 estimates, but it is still not expensive. And the company could have a big opportunity with the introduction of a new technology called high bandwidth flash (HBF), which will sit between HBM and Software Design Document storage. This could be important for inference, and opens up a whole new opportunity.Read NextMar 25, 2026 •By David Jagielski, CPAMicron Technology's Earnings Skyrocketed 771% Last Quarter. This Is a Key Reason Why Its Growth Was So IncredibleMar 25, 2026 •By Keith NoonanWhy Micron Stock Is Falling TodayMar 25, 2026 •By Parkev Tatevosian, CFAThis Is Arguably the Most Important Financial Update for Stock Market Investors!Mar 25, 2026 •By Keithen DruryPrediction: Micron Will Be One of the Best-Performing Stocks of 2026Mar 25, 2026 •By Geoffrey SeilerInvestors Dumped These 3 AI Stocks After Earnings. They'll Regret It.Mar 25, 2026 •By Harsh ChauhanWhere Will Micron Technology Stock Be in 2030?About the AuthorGeoffrey Seiler is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering technology, consumer goods, healthcare, energy, and materials stocks. Prior to The Motley Fool, Geoffrey was a senior equity analyst at Raging Capital Management, a $600 million long-short hedge fund. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Haverford College.TMFFindProfitStocks MentionedMicron TechnologyNASDAQ: MU$382.31(-3.34%)-$13.22Western DigitalNASDAQ: WDC$296.14(-1.63%)-$4.91Samsung ElectronicsOTC: SSNLF$64.82(+55.02%)+$23.00SandiskNASDAQ: SNDK$676.54(-3.69%)-$25.94*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.