SanDisk Corp.'s stock surged 8.58% during intraday trading on Wednesday, extending a powerful rally in the data storage sector.
The sharp gain follows strong earnings and an upbeat forecast from peer Seagate Technology, which reassured investors that enterprise spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure continues to drive robust demand for data storage. Seagate's results signaled that the AI boom is still fueling a surge in memory and storage requirements, helping memory stocks recover from a selloff triggered earlier in the week by concerns about OpenAI's growth metrics.
Analysts have highlighted an AI-driven NAND storage super cycle, with explosive demand from AI servers and workloads expected to sustain growth. The optimism was further bolstered by Melius Research initiating coverage on SanDisk with a Buy rating, arguing storage has reached "existential" importance for AI infrastructure, while Wedbush raised its price target on the company.