Shares of Sandisk surged 7.3% to $913.56 in morning trading on Monday, April 13, 2026, following a late Friday announcement from Nasdaq that the data storage company will join the prestigious Nasdaq-100 index. The change, effective at the market open on April 20, will see Sandisk replace software developer Atlassian in the benchmark, which tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange.
Index Reshuffle Impacts Billions in Assets
This reshuffle carries significant weight for the investment landscape. More than 200 financial products, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs), are directly tied to the Nasdaq-100, collectively overseeing over $600 billion in assets. Inclusion in the index typically triggers substantial buying activity from passive funds that track it, boosting a stock's liquidity and shareholder base. Nasdaq confirmed the adjustment adheres to its standard methodology, which remains in effect through April 30.
AI Hardware Rotation Drives the Shift
The index change underscores a broader market rotation. Investors are increasingly shifting capital toward companies building the physical infrastructure for artificial intelligence, particularly data storage and memory, while retreating from software stocks. The software sector faces mounting pressure as the market questions how quickly and disruptively AI will impact traditional business models. This sentiment has weighed heavily on companies like Atlassian, which is exiting the index.
Sandisk's inclusion follows a powerful rally driven by exploding demand for AI data centers. In January, the company provided a robust fiscal third-quarter outlook, projecting revenue between $4.4 billion and $4.8 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $12 to $14. Both ranges exceeded analyst expectations compiled by LSEG, directly attributed to the accelerating need for AI-related storage solutions.
Analysts Raise Targets on Supply Constraints
Wall Street analysts continue to lift their price targets on Sandisk. Bernstein analyst Mark Newman now has a target of $1,250, while Cantor Fitzgerald's C.J. Muse raised his target to $1,000. Muse cautioned that the supply-demand imbalance for critical storage components could persist until mid-2028. Newman, cited by MarketWatch, believes the rally has further room to run, noting that NAND flash memory—the technology behind solid-state drives (SSDs)—continues to outperform on both pricing and earnings metrics.
Industry leaders echo the bullish outlook on storage demand. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warned last month that "the storage system is going to get pounded" by AI workloads. Greg Matson, a senior vice president at storage firm Solidigm, told Reuters that supply "is going to be tight" through 2030. The AI infrastructure surge is also benefiting other storage and memory players, including Western Digital, Seagate Technology, and Micron Technology, according to Reuters reports.
Atlassian Exits Amid Software Slump
Atlassian's removal from the Nasdaq-100 coincides with a severe downturn for software stocks. The S&P 500 Software and Services Index has plummeted 25.5% in 2026, according to Reuters. Barron's reported that Atlassian's shares alone have fallen 65% year-to-date. Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers, identified "software-specific concerns stemming from AI" as a major factor resurfacing to hurt the sector.
Despite the positive momentum for Sandisk, broader market risks remain. Major U.S. stock indexes traded lower earlier on Monday, pressured by a spike in oil prices following the breakdown of weekend talks between the U.S. and Iran. Investors now have a narrow window before Sandisk reports its actual fiscal third-quarter results on April 30, leaving little time to assess whether the AI storage narrative can sustain its current momentum ahead of the earnings release.
