Mixed Close for US Stocks as Chipmakers Rally

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

SNDK+9.6%

ADI+4.54%

PPG+3.34%

Source: NASDAQ.COM

Updated: 6h ago

0mins

Source: NASDAQ.COM

Chipmaker Strength: ASML reported record Q4 bookings of €13.2 billion, significantly exceeding the consensus of €6.85 billion, which boosted chipmakers and AI infrastructure stocks, enhancing market confidence in AI spending sustainability.
Fed Policy Unchanged: The FOMC maintained the interest rate at 3.50%-3.75% as expected, with Chair Powell indicating strong economic performance without signaling imminent rate cuts, keeping market focus on future policy directions.
Dollar and Gold Fluctuations: The dollar index rebounded after hitting a nearly four-year low, while President Trump's comments on dollar weakness pushed gold prices up over 3% to a new all-time high, reflecting increased demand for safe-haven assets.
Economic Data Expectations: Initial jobless claims are expected to rise by 5,000 to 205,000 this week, and Q3 nonfarm productivity is anticipated to remain at 4.9%, indicating ongoing economic growth and potential market volatility.

SNDK

$527.63+Infinity%1D

Analyst Views on SNDK

Wall Street analysts forecast SNDK stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for SNDK is 283.69 USD with a low forecast of 220.00 USD and a high forecast of 410.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

14 Analyst Rating

11 Buy

3 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 481.430

Low

220.00

Averages

283.69

High

410.00

Current: 481.430

Low

220.00

Averages

283.69

High

410.00

Mizuho

Outperform

upgrade

$410 -> $600

2026-01-27

New

Reason

Mizuho

Price Target

$410 -> $600

AI Analysis

2026-01-27

New

upgrade

Outperform

Reason

Mizuho raised the firm's price target on SanDisk to $600 from $410 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm believes pricing tailwinds in the legacy DRAM and NAND markets will drive better sales and margins in 2026 for the memory group. Mizuho expects no new NAND wafer capacity in 2026 and 2027 as NAND demand expands over 20% in 2026. Annualized NAND pricing is estimated to be up 330% year-over-year in 2026 and 50% in 2027 with tight supply as AI server demand accelerates, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm upped price targets in memory as a result.

Morgan Stanley

Joseph Moore

Overweight

upgrade

$273 -> $483

2026-01-26

New

Reason

Morgan Stanley

Joseph Moore

Price Target

$273 -> $483

2026-01-26

New

upgrade

Overweight

Reason

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore raised the firm's price target on SanDisk to $483 from $273 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. NAND fundamentals remain "exceptional," driven by the surge in enterprise solid state drives that has meaningfully tightened the consumer markets as well. The firm is "again considerably raising numbers" on NAND pricing strength, though it notes that its estimates stay in-line with management guidance for the December quarter. For March, the firm now models revenue and non-gaap EPS of $2.94B and $5.71 based on moving NAND average selling prices from up 10% quarter-over-quarter to up 20% and bits from down 8% sequentially to down 6%, notes the analyst, who adds that the firm's through cycle estimate of $13 in earnings power is "probably too low" with numbers coming higher.

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Citi

NULL -> Buy

upgrade

$280 -> $490

2026-01-20

Reason

Citi

Price Target

$280 -> $490

2026-01-20

upgrade

NULL -> Buy

Reason

Citi raised the firm's price target on SanDisk to $490 from $280 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm adjusted targets in the technology hardware group as part of its 2026 outlook. Citi believes hyperscaler data center spending "remains robust," which is driving demand for power, storage, connectors, and fiber.

Evercore ISI

Outperform

maintain

$190 -> $230

2026-01-16

Reason

Evercore ISI

Price Target

$190 -> $230

2026-01-16

maintain

Outperform

Reason

Evercore ISI raised the firm's price target on Western Digital (WDC) to $230 from $190 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm told investors that Western Digital's remaining 5% stake in SanDisk (SNDK) is likely to be monetized in the coming weeks as the companies approach the one-year anniversary of their separation. Evercore expects proceeds to be used to further reduce debt on the balance sheet with excess capital returned to shareholders via dividend and share repurchase program. Assuming Western Digital deploys approximately 80% of this to share repurchases, the firm anticipates the company could see 3%-4% EPS upside.

About SNDK

SanDisk Corporation is a developer, manufacturer and provider of data storage devices and solutions based on NAND flash technology and has consumer brands and franchises globally. The Company's solutions include a range of solid state drives (SSDs) embedded products, removable cards, universal serial bus (USB) drives, and wafers and components. Its broad portfolio of technology and products addresses multiple end markets of cloud, client and consumer. Its cloud end market is comprised primarily of products for public or private cloud environments and enterprise customers. The Company, through the client end market, provides numerous data solutions that it incorporates into its client’s devices, which consist of solid state drive desktop and notebook personal computers, gaming consoles and set top boxes, and flash-based embedded storage products. The Company serves the consumer end market with a portfolio of solid state drives and removable flash, including cards and USB flash drives.

About the author

Emily J. Thompson

Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.