SanDisk shares soar 3,400% in one year. Can the rally sustain its momentum?

SanDisk Corp has become one of the most dramatic winners of the AI trade, with the stock up more than 3,400% in one year as investors bet on rising demand for flash memory used in data centres and AI inference workloads. The stock has gained 628.74% so far this year, which makes it the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2026, ahead of Dell Technologies, which is up nearly 300%. Over one year, SanDisk has returned 3,415%, while its three-year gain stands at 4,580%.

According to a report on TheStreet, JPMorgan has reinstated coverage on SanDisk with an Overweight rating and a price target of $2,250 on August 16. JPMorgan’s bullish view rests on three broad points: SanDisk’s role in the global NAND flash market, rising AI-led demand for enterprise data centre storage, and a new business model that gives the company more earnings visibility.

Why JPMorgan is bullish?


SanDisk is one of the top five global NAND flash memory suppliers. NAND flash is used in storage products across phones, computers, servers and data centres. The investor focus now is on enterprise flash storage, where AI inference workloads are expected to drive stronger demand.

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At its Investor Day, the company projected the enterprise data centre flash total addressable market to expand to 1.2 zettabytes by 2030. A key driver is AI inference, including storage needs linked to KV cache workloads.

The market is also paying attention to SanDisk’s new business model. The company has signed NBM agreements with eight key customers. These agreements include committed volumes and minimum financial guarantees.

SanDisk’s agreements now cover about 50% of bits in fiscal 2027 and roughly two-thirds of bits in fiscal 2028. This gives investors more confidence that future demand and revenue will be less volatile than in past cycles.

Technology is another reason behind the rally. SanDisk has outlined its BiCS9 and BiCS10 QLC NAND roadmap. BiCS10 is expected to deliver a 60% increase in bit density compared with BiCS8.

Higher density helps reduce cost per bit and allows the company to offer more storage in smaller physical space. This becomes more useful as data centres try to manage rising AI storage needs.

SanDisk is also working on High Bandwidth Flash technology aimed at AI inference applications. The company is trying to show that it is not only benefiting from better NAND pricing, but also building products for the next phase of AI infrastructure demand.

The sharp rise in the stock means expectations are now high. A 3,400% one-year gain leaves less room for disappointment if demand slows, pricing weakens or the company fails to deliver on its technology roadmap.

Still, JPMorgan’s $2,250 target shows that some on Wall Street believe the rally may have further to run. The bet is that AI demand is changing the storage market, and SanDisk is one of the few large players positioned to benefit directly.

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