Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) gapped down prior to trading 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 trading hands.

Sandisk News Summary

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

SNDK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Arete Research raised shares of Sandisk from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Sandisk from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Sandisk from $1,700.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group set a $1,700.00 price target on shares of Sandisk in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,470.00 price objective on shares of Sandisk in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,811.38.

Sandisk Stock Up 7.5%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,729.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,121.70. The firm has a market cap of $193.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.37 and a beta of 4.74.

Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $23.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.17 by $9.24. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 251.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Sandisk Corporation will post 64.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandisk

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Sandisk by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sandisk by 2.4% in the second quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 426 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sandisk by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 772 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sandisk by 12.0% during the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 121 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Sandisk by 2.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 527 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter.

About Sandisk

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.