SanDisk shares surge over 600% YTD on AI‑driven NAND flash demand

SanDisk’s stock has risen dramatically this year, climbing about 694 % since the start of 2024. On Friday the share price jumped 11.5 % to $2,184.75, approaching its recent record high of $2,191.69. The rally is driven by accelerating demand for NAND‑flash memory from artificial‑intelligence workloads and data‑center infrastructure, while analysts warn that a global NAND shortage could persist until at least 2028 and that production capacity may fall as much as 40 % by 2027.

The strong fundamentals have prompted several research houses to lift their price targets, with estimates ranging from $2,100 to $3,250 per share. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said higher storage‑chip prices are “unavoidable,” reinforcing the narrative of tight supply. Western Digital’s pending reduction of its stake in SanDisk adds a further note of caution for investors, but the overall sentiment remains bullish as AI‑related demand continues to outpace supply.

Analysts such as Morgan Stanley, Mizuho and Bank of America now rate SanDisk as an “outperform” and expect the NAND‑flash market to stay robust, given the critical role of fast, non‑volatile storage in training and inference for AI systems.