SanDisk Stock Slides Amid Broad Memory Chip Selloff

Shares of SanDisk Corporation (SNDK) dropped 5.1% in pre-open trading on Monday, caught in a broad selloff across the global memory chip sector. The decline followed a significant downturn in shares of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, which experienced its largest single-day drop in nearly two decades.

What Happened

The negative sentiment was primarily triggered by events surrounding SK Hynix. According to a report from Investing.com, the selloff in the South Korean firm was driven by a combination of profit-taking after its recent Nasdaq debut and a Korean brokerage report projecting its second-quarter operating profit would miss consensus estimates by approximately 8%.

This news created a ripple effect across the industry, impacting other major players. Sector peers Micron and Western Digital also fell sharply in pre-market trading, confirming the move was a broad-based reaction to industry sentiment rather than an issue specific to SanDisk.

Market Impact and Geopolitical Risk

Broader market conditions amplified the selling pressure. Renewed military strikes between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz unsettled global risk appetite overnight, causing a sharp jump in oil prices and weighing on Nasdaq futures. This risk-off environment particularly impacted high-beta growth stocks, including those in the semiconductor industry.

Ad

After closing the previous session at $1,915.92, SanDisk shares touched a low of $1,773 before stabilizing. The combination of a competitor-driven shock and a tense macroeconomic backdrop prompted the significant correction, despite a largely intact fundamental outlook for the company.

Analyst Counterpoints

Despite the session's headwinds, some Wall Street analysts provided a bullish counterpoint on SanDisk's long-term prospects. Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target on the stock from $1,200 to $2,200, citing expectations for a "very strong" fiscal fourth-quarter report in August.

Separately, Evercore ISI has also maintained an Outperform rating with a $3,100 price target. The firm pointed to approximately $62 billion in minimum committed revenue from new business agreements as a key factor supporting the long-term bull case, which is anchored by tight NAND supply and robust demand driven by artificial intelligence.