Micron Technology (Micron (MU)) shares are on a tear Friday, hitting a new all-time high of $683.09 and pushing the company's market cap toward $730 billion. The stock was up 3% in premarket trading, riding a wave of optimism about the memory market that has been building all week.

Nasdaq futures were up 0.81% and S&P 500 futures gained 0.52%, but Micron's move stands out. The rally has a name now: "memflation."

The 'Memflation' Phenomenon

Gartner, the research firm, has projected an extreme pricing environment for memory chips. Senior principal analyst Rajeev Rajput forecasts DRAM prices will spike 125% this year, while NAND flash prices could jump a staggering 234%. Gartner expects global memory revenue to hit $633.3 billion in 2026. They've dubbed this pricing surge "memflation," and it's a big reason why Micron is flying.

Cramer's Secular Shift Call

CNBC's Jim Cramer added fuel to the fire earlier this week. On Tuesday, he argued that Micron benefits from a structural shift in storage, not just a short-lived cycle. The AI buildout, he says, creates a secular trend. Cramer noted that conversations with executives at Amazon (AMZN) reinforced this bullish view, and he praised Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra for recognizing the demand wave early.

Next-Gen Storage and Supply Constraints

Micron isn't just riding the pricing wave—it's also launching products. On May 5, the company began shipping its 245TB 6600 ION SSD, which it calls the world's highest-capacity commercially available drive. The drive targets AI data lakes and hyperscale workloads, addressing power and cooling bottlenecks in AI infrastructure.

Supply constraints are tightening across the industry. TD Cowen flagged that Micron's entire 2026 HBM (high-bandwidth memory) capacity is already pre-sold. Other industry participants, including Sandisk (SNDK), Western Digital (WDC), and Seagate Technology (STX), also see limited capacity expansion. That's a recipe for continued pricing power.

Micron shares were trading near their 52-week high of $683.09 during premarket on Friday. With the AI boom showing no signs of slowing and memory prices surging, the rally may have more room to run.