NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Micron Technology's stock was downgraded to "underweight" from "equal weight" by brokerage firm Morgan Stanley, which said the stock is likely to be under pressure in the near term because of weakening fundamentals for its dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) product and seasonal weakness in the second quarter.

Contract prices for specialty semiconductor maker Micron's (MU: down $1.30 to $31.10, Research, Estimates) DRAM seem to have fallen in March to the mid-$4 range from between $4.50 and $5, the first such decline since November, 2001, Morgan Stanley analyst John Cross said in a research note. And despite the unfortunate earthquake in Taiwan on Sunday, which he said could have pushed prices up on shortage fears, 128-megabyte spot prices remained essentially flat.

Seasonal weakness should materialize in the second quarter, Cross added. And he expects a lot of negative news in the next several months until motherboard builds pick up.

"Although we believe Micron Technology is well-positioned in the DRAM market, is a fierce global competitor and is likely to be a prime beneficiary of market consolidation, we believe that the stock is likely to be under pressure in the near term," Cross said.

Morgan Stanley maintained its opinion that Micron stock is "more volatile" than its peers, a tag the firm attaches to stocks with more than a 25 percent chance of an up-or-down price move in the next one to 12 months as compared with the previous three years.

Related Story       Micron misses the mark

In its most recent earnings report, Micron, based in Boise, Idaho, posted a wider-than-expected loss and missed analysts' estimates. Micron lost $30 million, or 5 cents a share, in the quarter ended Feb. 28, compared with a net loss of $4 million, or a penny a share, in the year-earlier quarter, and a penny wider than the 4 cents-a-share loss estimated by analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call.