TLDR
- SanDisk stock jumped as much as 8.9% on Friday, trading around $1,687
- Nvidia confirmed it will pay $12.9 billion to acquire AI platform Hugging Face
- NAND flash demand from AI data centers remains strong, with global NAND revenue up roughly 70% quarter-on-quarter in Q2
- Dell Technologies COO said AI server supply constraints come down to “DRAM, DRAM, DRAM, followed by NAND, NAND, NAND”
- Bernstein analysts maintain a $3,000 price target on SNDK
SanDisk stock surged as much as 8.9% on Friday, hitting an intraday high of $1,693.71, before settling around $1,687 as of mid-morning trading. The move puts SNDK up roughly 8.5% on the day, with volume tracking well below its 13.9 million average.
The catalyst? Nvidia confirmed late Thursday it will acquire Hugging Face for $12.9 billion. The open-source AI platform has more than 18 million users, 3 million models, and over 200,000 companies using it to build and deploy AI.
Jensen Huang noted that more than half of Nvidia’s sales are “largely driven by open models,” and Nvidia is already the largest contributor of open models to Hugging Face. The deal is widely seen as a move to deepen Nvidia’s grip on the AI developer ecosystem.
So where does SanDisk fit in? Nvidia’s GPU demand has directly fueled demand for SanDisk’s NAND flash memory chips, which are critical components in AI data centers. What’s good for Nvidia’s AI ambitions tends to be good for SanDisk’s order book.
That connection got some extra backing this week from Dell Technologies COO Jeffrey Clarke, who said the supply bottleneck for AI servers comes down to one thing: memory. “The constraints remain the same,” Clarke said. “DRAM, DRAM, DRAM, followed by NAND, NAND, NAND.”
NAND Fundamentals Back the Move
Beyond the Nvidia news, NAND market fundamentals are holding up well. Global NAND revenue surged roughly 70% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, driven by ongoing AI infrastructure buildouts consuming large volumes of flash storage. Supply remains tight and pricing firm.
Bernstein analysts maintain a bullish $3,000 price target on SNDK, reflecting confidence in what they call a multi-year NAND shortage thesis.
Peer Micron Technology also traded higher Friday, up around 4%, confirming the move is sector-wide rather than specific to SanDisk.
Macro Relief Adds Fuel
Treasury yields eased heading into Friday’s key economic data, giving investors an additional reason to rotate back into high-growth semiconductor names that had been hit hard by rising rates in recent sessions.
The broader market offered little help. The S&P 500 edged down 0.5% and the Nasdaq dipped 0.48%, meaning SanDisk’s gain is clearly sector-driven.
SNDK is still more than 30% below its 52-week high of $2,354.39. At 23 times earnings and just 8 times forward earnings, the stock is attractively valued relative to its AI memory peers.
On the insider front, SanDisk’s Chief Legal Officer Bernard Shek sold 600 stock units at $1,525.60 on September 1 under a pre-scheduled Rule 10b5-1 plan, a routine transaction with no directional signal.
Bernstein’s $3,000 price target remains in place, with the stock currently trading around $1,687.
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