Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $1,214.83, but opened at $1,159.84. Sandisk shares last traded at $1,257.45, with a volume of 6,359,699 shares changing hands.

More Sandisk News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sandisk this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Positive pre-earnings outlook: A Seeking Alpha analysis called Sandisk a potential buy for investors with a one- to two-year horizon, citing attractive forward valuation and robust bottom-line growth despite the recent pullback. The company’s latest reported quarter also showed strong momentum, including $5.95 billion in revenue, 251% year-over-year growth and EPS well above consensus. Sandisk: Looking Like A Buy Ahead Of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum-screen support: Zacks identified SNDK as a momentum-anomaly candidate because it combines substantial one-year gains with a sharp recent weekly decline, potentially attracting traders looking for a rebound in a fast-moving stock. 3 Momentum Anomaly Stocks to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Potential sector relief: Morgan Stanley upgraded Korean equities to Overweight, arguing that forced selling and a leverage washout may be easing. That could improve sentiment toward memory peers such as Sandisk, Micron and SK Hynix. Morgan Stanley’s Korea Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst: Sandisk is scheduled to report results this week, and options markets imply an unusually large potential move. Investors are likely positioning for either confirmation of strong demand or another sharp repricing. Earnings Volatility Watch
• Negative Sentiment: Substantial risks remain: Analysts point to rapid Chinese NAND and DRAM expansion, possible pricing pressure from YMTC and uncertainty around pricing in Sandisk’s multiyear supply contracts. The broader memory ETF has also faced heavy selling, keeping sector sentiment fragile. Top DRAM ETF Stocks to Watch

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SNDK shares. Barclays upgraded Sandisk from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $1,200.00 to $2,300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Sandisk from $1,100.00 to $1,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Sandisk from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Arete Research raised shares of Sandisk from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Sandisk from $3,250.00 to $3,050.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,811.38.

Sandisk Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,729.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,121.70. The company has a market capitalization of $193.36 billion, a PE ratio of 45.37 and a beta of 4.74.

Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $23.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.17 by $9.24. The business had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter. Sandisk had a net margin of 34.19% and a return on equity of 44.06%. The business’s revenue was up 251.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sandisk Corporation will post 64.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael Pokorny sold 2,446 shares of Sandisk stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,426.18, for a total value of $3,488,436.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 22,375 shares in the company, valued at $31,910,777.50. This trade represents a 9.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard Shek sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,088.00, for a total transaction of $1,252,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,515 shares in the company, valued at $65,803,320. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $10,166,297. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandisk

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp acquired a new stake in Sandisk in the third quarter valued at $491,053,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Sandisk during the 3rd quarter worth $297,293,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sandisk in the fourth quarter worth approximately $518,889,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Sandisk during the third quarter worth about $190,425,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sandisk during the third quarter worth approximately $163,057,000.

Sandisk Company Profile

SanDisk Corporation offers flash storage solutions. The Company designs, develops and manufactures data storage solutions in a range of form factors using flash memory, controller, firmware and software technologies. The Company operates through flash memory storage products segment. Its solutions include a range of solid state drives (SSD), embedded products, removable cards, universal serial bus (USB), drives, wireless media drives, digital media players, and wafers and components. It offers SSDs for client computing applications, which encompass desktop computers, notebook computers, tablets and other computing devices.