Nokia CEO Justin Hotard said customers would build data centers roughly twice as fast if supply constraints were removed – a bullish signal for AI infrastructure firms.

  • Nvidia bucked the broader pullback, rising in premarket trading after reaching a record high.
  • Rosenblatt lifted its Micron price target to $1,900, citing strong results and potential buybacks.
  • Nokia’s CEO said AI infrastructure demand remains strong, with memory and power among key bottlenecks.

Chip stocks took a breather in premarket trading on Tuesday after a sharp rally at the start of October, with Nvidia remaining the lone major name in the green as investors continued to assess the strength of the AI-driven semiconductor trade.

Intel (INTC), AMD (AMD), Micron (MU), SanDisk (SNDK) and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) were down between 0.1% and 0.7% in premarket trading, while Nvidia (NVDA) gained about 0.7%. The moves reflect a modest hiccup in the broader chip rally, with SOXX advancing for five straight sessions and Nvidia hitting a fresh record high on Monday.

The Nasdaq Composite also closed at a record on Monday, rising 1.1%, on gains in Nvidia and Microsoft. Falling oil prices and growing optimism ahead of the third-quarter earnings season supported the broader market.  

The rally has also been supported by expectations that weaker-than-expected jobs data could reduce the expectations from the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its October policy meeting.

Rosenblatt Raises Micron's Price Target

The pullback in memory stocks comes despite continued bullish calls on the sector.

Rosenblatt raised its price target on Micron to $1,900 from $1,500 while maintaining a Buy rating. The firm said Micron had delivered the expected “beat-and-raise quarter,” but was surprised by management’s outlook for a slowdown in year-over-year DRAM bit growth.  

Rosenblatt also pointed to potential shareholder returns, saying that while Micron did not provide a fiscal 2027 capital-return target, management’s comments suggested that a substantial portion of its free cash flow could be directed toward share repurchases.

AI Demand Remains Strong, Says Nokia CEO

Meanwhile, Nokia CEO Justin Hotard offered another bullish read on AI infrastructure demand, saying customers could build data centers roughly twice as fast if supply constraints were removed. Memory chips and power availability are among the bottlenecks slowing construction, he said.  

Hotard emphasized strong demand persists even without new AI models from labs like OpenAI.

Intel, however, remains under pressure after Elon Musk said his Terafab venture is in discussions with TSMC over a potential collaboration. Intel shares fell 2.6% Monday as investors weighed the possibility of TSMC playing a larger role in the project. In April became the first to offer support for Musk’s Texas-based Terafab chip venture.

Retail View On Chip Stocks

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment was ‘bearish’ for INTC, AMD, SNDK and SOXX, ‘neutral’ for NVDA, and ‘extremely bullish’ for MU.

“$NVDA Break out just started. Added more, hold 3900 shares. 300 end of october, lets pump it bulls,” said a trader. 

Nvidia shares have gained about 14% since the company’s last earnings report on Aug. 26 and are up 24.8% year to date as of Monday’s close. NVDA has outperformed Intel and AMD in the ongoing second half of the year, although the latter two are up 215% and 195% year to date, respectively.

 

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