Micron (MU), SanDisk (SNDK) Up on Chip Prices Rising

The possibility the price of chips could rise because of the interruptions coming from the major earthquake which measured 8.9 in magnitude, pushed up the share prices of Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) on Friday, as uncertainty as to the depth of the damage and how long it would affect Toshiba is creating the upside.

Not only is there damage of chips in the factories themselves, but possibly more of an impact will be the time it could take to ship the chips to foreign markets.

"In addition to delivery interruptions that may arise from factory damage, shipments of product may be affected by disruptions in road, rail, sea, and air transportation within and from Japan," Toshiba said.

Pricing leverage and market share gains are two of the areas Micron and others may be able to exploit if this has a deeply detrimental impact, which history has shown can be the case in even small interruptions in the industry.

Micron closed Friday at $10.23, up $0.31, or 3.17 percent. SanDisk closed at $45.07, up $0.14, or 0.31 percent.