Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Melius Research

Key Points

• Melius Research initiated coverage on Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) with a buy rating; the stock has a consensus of Moderate Buy and an average analyst price target of $772, with several firms raising targets (Bank of America to $1,080, Barclays to $750, Goldman to $700).
• Sandisk posted a strong quarter—EPS $6.20 vs. $3.31 estimate and revenue $3.03 billion (up 61.2% year-over-year)—but still showed a negative net margin (-11.66%); the shares opened at $989.90 and the company has a $146.11 billion market cap with a beta of 5.04.
• Insider activity: Director Miyuki Suzuki sold 3,500 shares in February, cutting her holding by 26.11%, and corporate insiders collectively own just 0.21% of the company.

Equities researchers at Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set a "buy" rating on the data storage provider's stock.

SNDK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sandisk from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sandisk from $385.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sandisk from $900.00 to $1,080.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Sandisk from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $725.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Sandisk from $320.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sandisk currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $772.00.

Sandisk Price Performance

SNDK stock opened at $989.90 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average is $717.27 and its 200 day moving average is $448.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $146.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.42 and a beta of 5.04. Sandisk has a 1-year low of $31.01 and a 1-year high of $1,002.09.

Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $6.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $2.89. Sandisk had a negative net margin of 11.66% and a positive return on equity of 10.11%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 61.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Sandisk will post 39.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sandisk

In related news, Director Miyuki Suzuki sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.53, for a total value of $2,196,355.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,216,939.71. This trade represents a 26.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandisk

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in Sandisk in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,136,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Sandisk during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,546,000. Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sandisk in the third quarter worth approximately $587,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Sandisk in the third quarter worth approximately $7,046,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sandisk during the third quarter valued at approximately $514,000.

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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