Micron (MU) Ships 176-Layer QLC NAND, Launches 2400 SSD

Micron Technology MU recently announced that it has initiated the volume shipments of its176-layer Quad-level cell (“QLC”) NAND Solid State Drive (“SSD”). The first-of-its-kind technology delivers a layer count and density unprecedented in QLC NAND flash storage.

With its market-leading data density and best-in-class performance, the 176-layer QLC NAND flash memory enables high storage density and design flexibility for the first time ever. It is designed for use cases involving client and data center environments. It will be incorporated into selective Micron Crucial consumer SSDs and made available for system designers.

The new 176-layer QLC NAND is available with the introduction of the Micron 2400 SSD, the world’s first and most advanced 176-layer QLC NAND based peripheral component interconnect express (“PCIe”) Gen4 NVM express (“NVMe”) for client applications. Built with industry-leading storage density, the 176-layer PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD is the world’s first 2TB SSD available in a 22x30mm form factor. It is available in three compact M.2 form factors and is ideal for high-capacity storage in form factors to fit thin and light designs without compromising user experiences.

The new 2400 PCIe Gen4 QLC SSD is likely to accelerate the adoption of QLC in client devices as it features broader design options with a better affordable capacity. The latest move strengthens Micron’s leadership in QLC technology volume production.

Micron continues to witness growing demand for memory chips from cloud-computing providers and acceleration in 5G cellular network adoptions. In July 2021, the company had started volume shipments of the world’s first 176-layer NAND Universal Flash Storage 3.1 mobile solution. Prior to that, in November 2020, the company had commenced volume shipments of the world’s first 176-layer 3D NAND flash memory, achieving unprecedented, industry-pioneering density and performance.

Micron’s 176-layer NAND technology serves as an essential and powerful building block in technologists’ toolboxes across a broad array of sectors. The technology offers replacement-gate architecture, which combines charge traps with Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor-under-array design. It enhances performance by delivering 35% faster read and write times quickly booting and increasing application responsiveness.

The 176-layer NAND technology is accessible for a broad range of applications that include mobile, automotive, client, consumer and data center applications. It propels flash adoption in workloads such as data lakes, artificial intelligence and big data analytics.

Micron Technology, Inc. Price and Consensus

Micron Technology, Inc. Price and Consensus

Micron Technology, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Micron Technology, Inc. Quote

During the first-quarter fiscal 2022, Micron reported NAND revenues of $1.88 billion, which represented 24% of the total top line and rose 19% on a year-over-year basis. The company’s Storage Business Unit revenues, comprising SSD NAND components, totaled $1.15 billion, increasing 26% year over year.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Micron currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader computer and technology sector include the largest global Customer Relationship Management vendor Salesforce CRM and Hewlett Packard HPE, both flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and Advanced Micro Devices AMD carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Salesforce’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 earnings has been revised downward by 7.6% to 73 cents per share over the past 60 days. For fiscal 2022, earnings estimates have moved upward by 0.43% to $4.68 per share in the last 60 days.

Salesforce’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average surprise being 44.2%. CRM stock has appreciated 9% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HPE’s first-quarter fiscal 2022 earnings has been revised downward by 6.1% to 46 cents per share over the past 60 days. For fiscal 2022, earnings estimates have moved north by 1.5% to $2.03 per share in the past 90 days.

HPE’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average surprise being 14.4%. Shares of HPE have rallied 40.4% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Advanced Micro Devices’ fourth-quarter 2021 earnings has been revised upward by 7 cents to 75 cents per share over the past 90 days. For 2021, earnings estimates have moved north by 0.38% to $2.65 per share in the last 30 days.

Advanced Micro Devices’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average surprise being 14%. Shares of AMD have rallied 44% in the past year.

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