Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) saw its shares surge 15.3% in premarket trading on Thursday, reaching $2,206.75, following a strong earnings report from Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) that underscored robust demand for memory chips. The move added approximately $940 million to the value of Sandisk's stake in the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ), a Nasdaq-100 tracking ETF, pushing the fund up roughly 20 basis points on its own.
Micron's fiscal third-quarter revenue came in at $41.46 billion, a sharp increase from $9.30 billion in the same period last year, driven by AI-related demand. The company guided fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to $50 billion, plus or minus $1 billion, with non-GAAP EPS of $31, plus or minus $1. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra highlighted the "strategic value of memory in the AI era," a comment that resonated strongly with Sandisk, which relies on NAND flash storage and is less tied to software or consumer electronics trends.
Sandisk, which joined the Nasdaq-100 Index on April 20, replacing Atlassian Corporation (NASDAQ:TEAM), now holds a 1.30% weighting in QQQ. According to Schwab's holdings page, Sandisk's stake in the ETF was valued at $6.2 billion as of Wednesday's close. With the premarket gain of $292.29 per share, the value of that stake rose by about $940 million before the market opened, translating to a 20-basis-point contribution to QQQ's performance, excluding any other stock moves.
Citi analyst Asiya Merchant raised her price target on Sandisk to $2,500 from $2,025, citing tight NAND supply through 2027. The new target implied 30.6% upside from Wednesday's close, but with the premarket surge, the potential gain narrowed to about 13%. Merchant noted that Micron's quarterly results supported Citi's thesis of constrained supply, which has been a key driver for Sandisk's recent performance.
Sandisk's own fiscal third-quarter results, reported in April, showed revenue of $5.95 billion, up 251% year-over-year, with datacenter revenue soaring 645% to $1.47 billion. The company expects fiscal fourth-quarter revenue between $7.75 billion and $8.25 billion, with non-GAAP diluted EPS of $30 to $33. Sandisk CEO David Goeckeler said the company is moving "toward the highest-value end markets, led by Datacenter," and noted that three new business model agreements were signed by quarter-end, with two more in the fiscal fourth quarter.
Despite the bullish outlook, some analysts caution that pricing power may not last. "Once supply starts to creep back, pricing power is the first thing at risk," Jake Behan, head of capital markets at Direxion, told Reuters. Sandisk's stock remains about 6% below its 52-week high of $2,354.39, and premarket volume of 346,620 shares was lower than Wednesday's 10.42 million and the 65-day average of 14.43 million.
The broader market context remains favorable for memory stocks, with AI-driven demand continuing to boost semiconductor companies. However, investors should watch for any signs of supply normalization that could pressure Sandisk's margins. The stock's inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 has also made it a significant driver of passive flows, amplifying its impact on index-tracking funds like QQQ.
