Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) Shares Up 26% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Sandisk shares surged 26% to about $1,280 on heavy trading volume, supported by stronger AI-related data-center spending and expectations of worsening global memory shortages.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, citing enterprise-storage demand, roughly $42 billion in contracts, strong recent earnings performance and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $1,811.38.
• Risks remain significant: the stock’s elevated valuation, intense Chinese NAND competition and the possibility that the current AI-driven memory boom is temporary. Investors are also looking ahead to SanDisk’s August 5 earnings report for further clues on demand and guidance.

Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 26% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1,285.48 and last traded at $1,279.96. Approximately 23,384,505 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average daily volume of 16,526,291 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,015.89.

Trending Headlines about Sandisk

Here are the key news stories impacting Sandisk this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI spending and memory-supply outlook improve: Strong results from Microsoft renewed confidence in data-center AI investment, while Samsung reported a more than 250-fold increase in chip profit and said global shortages could worsen through 2028. Those developments support demand for SanDisk’s storage products and helped lift memory stocks broadly. Why Micron, Sandisk, SK Hynix and other memory stocks are roaring back today?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to see substantial long-term upside: Commentary highlights enterprise-storage demand tied to AI inference, approximately $42 billion in contracts, a debt-free balance sheet and repeated upward earnings and revenue revisions. SanDisk has also reportedly exceeded earnings and revenue expectations for five consecutive quarters. SanDisk's Biggest Opportunity Yet
• Positive Sentiment: Oversold conditions may be attracting buyers: After losing roughly half its value from its recent peak, SNDK has become technically oversold. Investors are betting that forced selling and margin liquidations have eased, creating the possibility of a sharp rebound if fundamentals remain intact. Is SanDisk stock crash over as SNDK turns most oversold in 15 months?
• Neutral Sentiment: Attention is turning to earnings: SanDisk is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter results on August 5. One preview cites a projected EPS figure of $33.38 and a consensus Buy rating, making the report and management’s commentary on AI storage demand important near-term catalysts. Sandisk Stock Is Gaining Thursday: What's Going On?
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cyclical risks remain: Morningstar reportedly expects the current AI-driven memory boom to be temporary, with a potential downturn by 2029. Investors also remain concerned about Chinese NAND competition, the possibility of another memory-cycle downturn and the stock’s elevated valuation after its extraordinary prior rally. SanDisk falls 54%: Morningstar sees finite AI boom before 2029 downturn

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SNDK. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,200.00 price objective on shares of Sandisk in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore set a $3,100.00 price target on shares of Sandisk in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sandisk from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays upgraded Sandisk from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $1,200.00 to $2,300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Melius Research set a $2,350.00 price target on Sandisk in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,811.38.

Sandisk Stock Up 26.0%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,739.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,109.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 4.74.

Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $23.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $14.17 by $9.24. The business had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter. Sandisk had a net margin of 34.19% and a return on equity of 44.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 251.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Sandisk Corporation will post 64.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sandisk

In other Sandisk news, CAO Michael Pokorny sold 2,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,426.18, for a total transaction of $3,488,436.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 22,375 shares in the company, valued at $31,910,777.50. This represents a 9.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Necip Sayiner sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,503.11, for a total value of $870,300.69. Following the sale, the director owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,359,019. The trade was a 16.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $10,166,297. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandisk

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp purchased a new position in shares of Sandisk during the third quarter valued at approximately $491,053,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Sandisk during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $297,293,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sandisk during the 4th quarter valued at $518,889,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Sandisk in the 3rd quarter valued at $190,425,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Sandisk in the 3rd quarter valued at $163,057,000.

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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