/AI%20(artificial%20intelligence)/Close-%20up%20of%20computer%20chip%20with%20AI%20sign%20by%20YAKOBCHUK%20V%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)
SanDisk (SNDK) shares are pushing higher on Thursday morning after a senior Citi analyst, Asiya Merchant, issued a bullish note in favor of the flash memory storage devices manufacturer.
Merchant maintained a “Buy” rating on SNDK and raised her price objective to $2,500 — indicating potential upside of another 10% from current levels.
Note that SanDisk stock has already been a lucrative investment in 2026, currently trading at about 8x its price at the start of this year.
Micron Earnings Bode Well for SanDisk Stock
Merchant’s constructive view is rooted in blowout Q3 results reported by Micron Technology (MU) late on June 24, which serve as a powerful bellwether for SanDisk.
In her research note, the Citi analyst attributed MU’s blockbuster numbers partly to “tight NAND industry conditions,” adding SNDK, as a key flash-storage maker, is strongly positioned to ride that tailwind.
According to Merchant, the supply shortage is “serving as a competitive moat” that will continue to improve the company’s margins over the long term.
Note that SNDK shares currently sit handily above their major moving averages (MAs), indicating bulls remain firmly in control across multiple timeframes.
AI Boom to Drive SNDK Shares Even Higher
The broader catalyst behind Citi’s bullish view on SanDisk shares is the artificial intelligence (AI) driven increase in hyperscalers’ capital expenditures.
U.S. tech conglomerates, including Alphabet's (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google, Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN), have committed to spending a jaw-dropping $700 billion into building AI data centers this year.
And enterprise data centers are increasingly moving away from traditional mechanical storage, switching instead to ultra-fast solid-state drives (SSDs) to keep up with intensive AI workloads.
Merchant noted that this evolving product mix, focused on high-margin data center infrastructure, will continue to boost SNDK’s bottom line, maximizing its profitability over the long term.
SanDisk Remains Buy-Rated Among Wall Street Firms
Note that Citi isn’t the only Wall Street firm that still sees further upside in SNDK stock, despite its meteoric year-to-date rally.
According to Barchart, the consensus rating on SanDisk sits at “Strong Buy” currently, with the mean price target of about $3,250 signaling potential upside of 43% over the next 12 months.
