Raymond James analyst Melissa Fairbanks upgraded Sandisk to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ rating, with a price target of $725.
- Fairbanks sees further upside opportunities in the Sandisk stock, fueled by the demand and pricing implications of an “unprecedented” data center and artificial intelligence cycle.
- The analyst added that Sandisk’s demand is “exceptionally strong and likely only growing,” with the supply of its NAND flash memory strained to the point that it is on the verge of being sold out for the rest of the year.
- The firm added in its note that it sees limited new supply coming online this year, which could further boost memory prices going forward.
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) shares soared more than 21% in Friday’s pre-market trade after the company’s blowout second-quarter (Q2) results and the subsequent analyst upgrade.
According to TheFly, Raymond James analyst Melissa Fairbanks upgraded Sandisk to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ rating, with a price target of $725. This implies an upside of nearly 35% based on the stock’s closing price on Thursday.
What Did The Analyst Say?
Fairbanks sees further upside opportunities in the Sandisk stock, fueled by the demand and pricing implications of an “unprecedented” data center and artificial intelligence cycle.
The analyst added that Sandisk’s demand is “exceptionally strong and likely only growing,” with the supply of its NAND flash memory strained to the point that it is on the verge of being sold out for the rest of the year.
The firm added in its note that it sees limited new supply coming online this year, which could further boost memory prices going forward. It expects Sandisk to be one of the beneficiaries of the shift toward data centers with longer lifespans.
Blowout Q2, Outlook
Sandisk reported earnings per share (EPS) of $6.2 in Q2, far outpacing analyst expectations of $3.62. The Milpitas, California-headquartered company reported revenue of $3.3 billion during the quarter, beating Wall Street estimates of $2.69 billion, according to Stocktwits data.
The company forecast third-quarter EPS in the $12 to $14 range, and revenue in the $4.4 billion to $4.8 billion range. This is higher than a consensus estimate of an EPS of $4.33 on revenue of $2.91 billion, according to TheFly.
“This quarter’s performance underscores our agility in capitalizing on better product mix, accelerating enterprise SSD deployments, and strengthening market demand dynamics, all at a time when the critical role that our products play in powering AI and the world’s technology is being recognized,” said Sandisk CEO David Goeckeler.
How Did Stocktwits Users React?
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Sandisk was in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘extremely high’ levels. The stock was the sixth-most-trending ticker on the platform at the time of writing.
One bullish user thinks that Sandisk’s shares are headed to $1,000 this year, implying an upside of nearly 86% from current levels.
Another user stated that the stock has “so much room to run” following the company’s Q2 results.
SNDK stock is up 127% year-to-date and 1,438% over the past 12 months.
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