Shares of memory storage firm Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK | SNDK Price Prediction) have continued to win in 2026, adding another 155% gain to its explosive multi-year rally. With the market cap now north of $100 billion, at least as of this time of this writing, the breakout now looks over-extended. Of course, investors are right to be skeptical after a surge of more than 1,200% in one year. Sometimes, the right move is to just admit you missed it and to move on.
However, with memory storage continuing to act as the major hardware bottleneck holding the AI boom back, questions linger as to how long the Goldilocks environment will last. If you’re a believer in the AI boom, perhaps Sandisk’s explosive past-year move is more of a vicious correction to the upside than the inflating of a bubble that’ll inevitably end in tears for the latecomers.
Sandisk shares might not be done if the AI buildout has years to go
Either way, the supercycle in AI, I believe, is real, but that alone doesn’t guarantee continued strength for those red-hot shares of Sandisk, especially since the meteoric multiple already prices in a boom, maybe even a bit more than that. It’s hard to tell with shares of Sandisk, which, believe it or not, doesn’t look all that expensive, at least when you look at the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple, which sits at just north of 18.0 times.
For the real AI bulls that think the AI buildout could produce a longer-lived shortage in data storage products, perhaps it’s this figure that’s good enough to stay aboard as the blistering-hot stock looks to become that much hotter. With another applause-worthy quarter in the books, an argument can be made that Sandisk is already on track to grow into its multiple.
And if the big beats keep coming, perhaps the multiple might not be high enough. Any way you look at it, Sandisk was in the right place at the right time. And three months into 2026, it remains in the optimal spot as it looks to do its part to supply the deep-pocketed AI innovators with the hardware they need to get the job done. If the supercycle in storage hardware still has legs, Sandisk might still have room to go. But, of course, value investors are right to have trust issues with a stock that’s basically a 12-bagger in a single year.
Shares still look cheap, provided the peak in the cycle isn’t around the corner
As Sandisk inks multi-year deals with the heaviest spenders out there (hyperscalers), Sandisk may very well be the way to play the other side of the “CapEx spending” boom that has many mega-cap tech investors nervous as the bills come due. If the AI supercycle is the real deal and Sandisk, as well as its rivals, stay in the right place for far longer, I think there’s a chance that there might actually still be value to be had in the name at north of $700 per share, as obscene as that may sound. At the same time, it’s hard to know when the cyclical peak will be.
So, maybe that modest P/E should accompany an asterisk. After all, really low (or too-low-to-be-true) multiples tend to be a symptom of the latter stages of a cycle, while pricey-looking multiples might be more common in the earlier stages. Either way, I’m not willing to buy the name on strength, even if some sell-side analysts are pressured to keep raising their price targets.
More recently, Citi analyst Asiya Merchant hiked their target to $875.00 per share (up a whopping $125), citing momentum in the storage hardware scene. Indeed, NAND demand doesn’t look about to slow down anytime soon. And for now, the stock looks like Sandisk stock will outpace the market until the momentum reverses course.
Even once data centers, which are going up everywhere, do have their fill, the big question is what kind of demand we can expect as edge AI looks to take off, and everyday consumers start looking for hefty storage upgrades. Could it be that analysts are still underestimating the longevity of this Goldilocks period? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if such a second wind is in the cards.
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