SanDisk Surges 10%, Micron and Western Digital Jump 8% as Memory and Storage Stocks Rebound From AI Sell-Off

Memory and storage stocks are leading the chip sector’s recovery after one of its worst sessions in years. SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK | SNDK Price Prediction) stock is at $883.13, up 10% in morning trading. The flash maker fell more than 22% in the November 5 session, even though it reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of $11.03 billion on October 29.

Shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) are at $709.50, up 8%. The advance comes after an 18% drop for Micron in the November 5 session. Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) stock is at $287.75, up 8%. Over the past month, the hard drive maker has lost 30%.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) is also in focus.

Why Memory Stocks Sold Off So Hard

Political risk drove the November 5 drop. Democrats’ midterm wins raised fears that opposition to U.S. data center construction could slow AI spending, according to Yahoo Finance. Goldman Sachs estimated that 45% of planned U.S. data center capacity could face restrictions after newly elected governors pledged to stop or pause construction. Micron and SanDisk were among the hardest-hit names.

Selling spread across the whole chip complex. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 12%, its largest one-day drop since March 2020, while the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 70%. SanDisk, Micron and Western Digital each beat earnings estimates in their latest reports, so the drop reflected worries about future AI spending.

Micron Stock Looks Cheap After the Drawdown

Micron trades at 9x trailing earnings after the slide. SanDisk’s P/E ratio is 10x, a low multiple for a company whose revenue is still climbing fast.

Those multiples depend on earnings estimates holding up as memory pricing and demand shift. On its September 30 call, Micron’s chief financial officer said price increases should continue at “a more moderate pace.” Slower pricing gains could cap how far Micron’s estimates rise.

Supply Shortages Could Cushion SanDisk and Micron

KC Rajkumar of LYNX Equity Strategies argues that memory and flash shortages protect suppliers such as Micron and SanDisk, and his checks found no election-related disruption in Asian memory markets. Rajkumar suggested investors may want to “stick one’s toe in, gingerly.” He cited the $25 billion buyback authorization from Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) as a confidence signal.

Yardeni Research described the political backlash as temporary obstacles and called the selloff a buying opportunity. SanDisk management made a similar demand point on its October 29 call, stating that “Customers have underestimated the amount of NAND they need to run their infrastructure.” A seller-exhaustion bounce is also possible for SanDisk, although that reading can’t be confirmed yet.

Economic data offered support as well. The U.S. added 165,000 jobs in October, beating expectations, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%. That background could give Micron and SanDisk a firmer ground.

How SanDisk’s Flash Focus Differs From Micron and Western Digital

SanDisk is a pure play on NAND flash, selling enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) for AI data centers alongside memory for phones, PCs and retail devices. The company produces its flash wafers through joint ventures with Kioxia, which ties its supply to that partnership.

Micron’s portfolio is broader, spanning dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND and the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that sits beside AI accelerators. Western Digital makes hard disk drives for cloud and enterprise storage after separating from SanDisk, and it still holds an ownership interest in its former flash unit. That mix ties Western Digital to mass-capacity storage pricing, while SanDisk rides flash pricing directly.

Data Center Politics Hold the Key to SanDisk’s Recovery

SanDisk now faces the question of whether the rebound holds after the opening bell. Policy headlines from newly elected governors could revive the selloff if more states move to pause construction. Micron’s next earnings report will show whether its pricing and demand are holding up.

On the bullish side, tight supply and low multiples give the group a buffer if AI spending slows. A broader construction freeze could still pressure SanDisk, since data centers are its fastest-growing market, and the same power, cooling, and infrastructure names tied to that expansion are the ones we broke down in a free report on the AI boom beyond the chipmakers. Position sizing could remain a key consideration until the data center policy fight ends.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.