On CNBC’s “Halftime Report Final Trades,” market analysts Jim Lebenthal, Jason Snipe, Joshua Brown, and Joseph M. Terranova shared their top stock picks, including Micron Technology, Palo Alto Networks, Apple, and Amgen. The selections were supported by recent analyst ratings and price target adjustments, reflecting optimism about these companies' performance.

Jim Lebenthal, partner and chief market strategist at Cerity Partners, named Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) as his final trade. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse maintained an Overweight rating on Micron on June 29 and raised the price target from $1,500 to $2,000. Micron gained 0.8% to close at $1,154.29 on Tuesday.

Jason Snipe, founder and chief investment officer of Odyssey Capital Advisors, picked Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW). BTIG analyst Gray Powell maintained a Buy rating on Palo Alto on June 30 and increased the price target from $333 to $380. Palo Alto shares rose 2.7% to settle at $341.02 during the session.

Joshua Brown, co-founder and CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, expressed confidence in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), citing expectations for a strong second half. Apple recently raised prices on hardware products, attributing the move to surging demand for memory and storage driven by AI data centers. Apple shares gained 2.7% to close at $289.36 on Tuesday.

Joseph M. Terranova, senior managing director for Virtus Investment Partners, recommended Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN). Mizuho analyst Salim Syed maintained a Neutral rating on Amgen on June 16 and raised the price target from $295 to $303. Amgen shares rose 0.4% to settle at $362.12 during the session.

Stock Performance Summary

Micron Technology, Inc. shares fell approximately 3% in premarket trading on Wednesday as investors reduced exposure to high-beta technology names, coinciding with a decline in broader equity futures. The early weakness indicates routine profit-taking following the stock's substantial multi-month rally, though Micron remains a top performer in the semiconductor sector year-to-date.

CEO Outlines Sustained AI Demand Runway

Micron Chairman and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated that AI-driven memory demand has surprised even the company's customers and expects industry supply to remain tight beyond 2027. In an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, Mehrotra emphasized that memory is now essential across AI data centers, smartphones, PCs, automobiles, and industrial applications, supporting long-term demand as AI remains in its early stages.

Mehrotra noted that the current shortage results from the industry's 2023 downturn, when memory prices fell to one-third of 2022 levels, impacting manufacturers' profitability and investment capacity. Despite those headwinds, Micron invested about $10 billion in memory technology and supply during 2023. The company is currently investing about $200 billion globally, including in the U.S., to expand manufacturing capacity while returning excess cash to shareholders.

Technical Picture and Analyst Consensus

Micron continues to trade well above its key moving averages, sitting 6.2% above its 20-day simple moving average of $1,050.06, 34.4% above its 50-day average of $829.88, and 155.8% above its 200-day average of $435.88. The bullish alignment of these averages suggests the longer-term uptrend remains intact, though momentum has eased as the MACD indicator sits below its signal line with a negative histogram.

The stock reached a 52-week high of $1,255 in June. Key resistance stands at $1,255, while immediate support is near $1,050. Analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with an average price forecast of $1,542.05. Recent analyst actions include Cantor Fitzgerald raising its price forecast to $2,000 on June 29 and Barclays raising its Overweight price forecast to $2,000 on June 25.