By Adam Clark

Rambus stock was tumbling early Tuesday. In-line warnings weren't enough to keep the rally going for a stock that has become a popular alternative play on the memory-chip boom.

The shares were falling 16% to $119.00 in premarket trading. It looks to be a victim of high expectations after a 64% rise in the stock over the past month.

Rambus designs interfaces managing how data is transmitted from memory chips made by the likes of Micron Technology. That has made it a popular choice for investors looking to take advantage of soaring demand for memory components, driven by the needs of artificial-intelligence hardware.

Although Rambus's first-quarter earnings were broadly in line with expectations, a forecast for $199 million in second-quarter revenue at the midpoint of guidance was only slightly above consensus forecasts.

"Rambus reported first-quarter results that were roughly in line with consensus, a disappointment given the heightened expectations and significant runup in valuation into the print," wrote William Blair analyst Sebastien Naji in a research note. "We continue to see a favorable risk/reward equation for shares given multiple upcoming catalysts and strong exposure to ongoing AI CPU demand and memory bottlenecks."

Naji reiterated an Outperform rating on the stock with no price target.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

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April 28, 2026 07:28 ET (11:28 GMT)

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