Analyst’s $1,250 Call Makes Sandisk the AI Boom’s Pure-Play NAND Winner

AI data centers keep devouring storage at record clips, and memory chip demand shows no signs of slowing. NAND flash prices, in particular, keep surprising to the upside. That is what just pushed Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK | SNDK Price Prediction) to a fresh all-time high. But does the rally have legs? 

Two top analysts just raised price targets on stronger-than-expected memory pricing, and the numbers suggest yes — provided the cycle holds. Let’s break it down.

Wall Street Lifts Targets on NAND Momentum

Bernstein analyst Mark Newman delivered the Street-high call yesterday. He hiked his price target on Sandisk to $1,250 from $1,000 per share and kept an Outperform rating. The move implies roughly 47% upside from the stock’s April 8 close of $780.90. Newman’s base case applies an 11-times multiple to average non-GAAP earnings of $114 per share across fiscal 2026 through 2029. For fiscal 2027 alone, he now sees $144 per share. In a bull case — factoring sustained higher pricing — he models $224 per share in earnings and sketches a blue-sky scenario north of $3,000.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse followed suit the same day. He raised his target to $1,000 from $800 while maintaining an Overweight rating. That still points to 28% upside from Wednesday’s level. Both firms cited the same catalyst: NAND average selling prices continue to accelerate faster than expected, according to Bernstein’s March memory tracker.

The stock responded in kind. Sandisk shares closed yesterday at $851.57, up 9% on volume of 19.8 million shares — more than double the 30-day average. That extends a 2,228% gain over the past year.

Why Pure-Play NAND Gives SanDisk an Edge

Sandisk operates as a focused NAND specialist, unlike diversified peers. Consider Micron Technologies (NASDAQ:MU), which mixes DRAM, NAND, and high-bandwidth memory. Micron posted record fiscal Q1 DRAM revenue of $10.8 billion, up 69% year over year, and NAND revenue of $2.7 billion, up 22%. Solid, yet Sandisk’s narrower focus lets it capture NAND price spikes more directly.

Look at the latest numbers. Sandisk reported fiscal Q2 2026 revenue of $3.03 billion, up 61% year over year and 31% sequentially. Data-center revenue alone hit $440 million, up 76% year over year, as hyperscalers ramp enterprise SSDs for AI training clusters. Gross margins expanded toward 50% on the pricing tailwind. Analysts now expect Q3 revenue to rise more than 50% sequentially at the midpoint of guidance.

A quick side-by-side:

• SanDisk Q2 revenue growth: +61% year over year (pure NAND play)
• Micron Q1 DRAM revenue growth: +69% year over year (broader mix)
• SanDisk data-center revenue growth: +76% year over year
• Trailing 12-month revenue: $8.93 billion (SanDisk) vs. Micron’s annualized run-rate north of $20 billion

Simply put, when NAND prices rise 10% or more in a quarter — as they have — Sandisk’s earnings power compounds faster because storage makes up its entire business.

Risks Investors Must Weigh

That said, memory cycles have historically turned on a dime. Sandisk’s trailing 12-month EPS sits at $7.49 per share loss, reflecting earlier-cycle weakness before the current rebound. Forward estimates look far stronger, yet any slowdown in AI capex could pressure pricing by late 2027. 

Supply additions from new fabs also bear watching, though analysts see shortages persisting into 2028. Sandisk’s market cap now stands at $125.7 billion on 147.6 million shares, so volatility remains part of the package.

Key Takeaway

When all is said and done, Bernstein’s $1,250 target and Cantor’s $1,000 call reflect real earnings momentum tied to measurable NAND pricing gains — not hype. Savvy investors who already own shares can hold with confidence for a 28% to 47% potential reward over the next 12 months, according to these updates. 

New buyers should size positions for the cycle’s ups and downs, perhaps using dips below $800 as entry points — but the stock just might run away from you. Either way, the data shows Sandisk’s pure-play leverage to AI storage demand still has a long runway.