Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) Stock Moved Up to "Strong-Buy" by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Sandisk to “strong buy” from “hold.” The broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $2,120.65.
• Sandisk shares opened at $1,403.34 and were down 5.3%, while the stock remains highly volatile, with a beta of 5.23 and a 52-week range of $130.50 to $2,354.39.
• The company reported strong recent results, including $39.25 in quarterly EPS versus $33.28 expected and 371.6% year-over-year revenue growth. Its board also approved a $14 billion share-buyback program covering up to 6.6% of outstanding shares.

Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SNDK. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,400.00 price target (up from $1,000.00) on shares of Sandisk in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on shares of Sandisk in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $2,400.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sandisk from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. China Renaissance increased their price objective on shares of Sandisk from $2,000.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,000.00 target price (up from $1,700.00) on shares of Sandisk in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,120.65.

Sandisk Trading Down 5.3%

Sandisk stock opened at $1,403.34 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,599.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,492.85. Sandisk has a 1 year low of $130.50 and a 1 year high of $2,354.39. The company has a market cap of $202.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 5.23.

Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $39.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $33.28 by $5.97. Sandisk had a net margin of 56.47% and a return on equity of 87.84%. The firm had revenue of $8.96 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Sandisk's revenue was up 371.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sandisk has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 44.000-46.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sandisk will post 208.94 EPS for the current year.

Sandisk declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to buy back $14.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to repurchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sandisk

In other news, insider Bernard Shek sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,734.94, for a total transaction of $1,040,964.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,393,644.72. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 33,841 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,574.21, for a total value of $53,272,840.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 382,865 shares in the company, valued at $602,709,911.65. The trade was a 8.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 77,899 shares of company stock valued at $121,159,122 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandisk

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Sandisk by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,564 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $130,885,000 after buying an additional 14,964 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Sandisk in the 2nd quarter worth $4,775,000. Florida Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sandisk in the 1st quarter worth $2,747,000. UNICOM Systems Inc. increased its position in shares of Sandisk by 14.9% in the second quarter. UNICOM Systems Inc. now owns 58,500 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $133,013,000 after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares during the period. Finally, Affinity Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sandisk in the second quarter valued at about $2,506,000.

About Sandisk

SanDisk Corporation offers flash storage solutions. The Company designs, develops and manufactures data storage solutions in a range of form factors using flash memory, controller, firmware and software technologies. The Company operates through flash memory storage products segment. Its solutions include a range of solid state drives (SSD), embedded products, removable cards, universal serial bus (USB), drives, wireless media drives, digital media players, and wafers and components. It offers SSDs for client computing applications, which encompass desktop computers, notebook computers, tablets and other computing devices.

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