Storage Chip Giant SanDisk Replaces TEAM to Join Nasdaq 100 Index, SanDisk Shares May Soar to $1,000

TradingKey - Last Friday, Nasdaq announced that storage chip giant SanDisk ( SNDK) will join the Nasdaq 100 Index before the market opens on April 20, 2026, replacing Atlassian ( TEAM ).

The Nasdaq 100 Index covers the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq and is tracked by more than 200 investment products with over $600 billion in assets under management globally; therefore, any change in constituents triggers a rebalancing of passive funds.

The significance of this adjustment goes beyond mere "ins and outs"; rather, it reflects the market's redefinition of the direction of technology weightings.

The inclusion of SanDisk indicates that capital markets are assigning higher weight to the "storage" segment within the AI infrastructure chain, while the removal of TEAM shows that the valuation environment for software companies is becoming more discerning under the impact of AI. This change itself signals that the Nasdaq 100 Index is more clearly reflecting investment preferences in the AI era.

Why was SanDisk able to enter?

SanDisk's entry into the Nasdaq 100 Index is primarily due to the fact that its market capitalization and market sentiment are no longer what they once were.

Latest market data shows that SNDK's current share price is approximately $851.77, with a year-to-date increase of 258.82% and a market capitalization of about $125.7 billion. From this scale, it has already become a sufficiently heavyweight company within the Nasdaq 100 candidate pool.

More importantly, the industrial narrative behind it has clearly shifted toward AI.

Records show that SanDisk raised its performance guidance due to AI-driven data storage demand, with its stock price gaining 142.75% in January; furthermore, its fiscal 2026 second-quarter revenue reached $3.03 billion, where data center revenue grew 64% sequentially, primarily fueled by strong demand from AI infrastructure builders and tech companies. This indicates that SanDisk's rally is not based purely on sentiment but rather on the market's perception of it as a key supplier in the AI computing power chain.

This explains why it was included in the Nasdaq 100 Index. For the Nasdaq 100, a company does not need to "tell a better story"; instead, it is about whether it has achieved a large enough scale, high enough trading popularity, and a position that fits the current technological narrative. SanDisk now possesses all three.

Why was TEAM replaced?

Atlassian is not a company with poor fundamentals. Data shows that TEAM raised its fiscal 2026 revenue growth forecast, citing the continued resilience of enterprise software spending and the fact that more customers are embedding AI tools into their workflows.

The problem, however, is that current market sentiment toward the software industry is unfavorable.

According to Reuters, concerns that AI might disrupt traditional software business models have resurfaced as Anthropic launched new models, causing software stocks to broadly decline. This implies that while TEAM still sees business growth, the market is now more inclined to grant valuations to companies more directly related to AI infrastructure and less impacted by AI disruption.

As a result, TEAM's exclusion is more of a style adjustment within the Nasdaq 100 rather than a direct rejection of the company's long-term value. It has lost its index seat and eligibility for passive fund inflows, but the business itself has not disappeared. It is just that from the perspective of current market preferences, valuation patience for software companies in the AI era is indeed not as high as it once was.

What is the impact on SanDisk?

Inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 Index represents more than just a more prestigious title for SanDisk.

A more direct change is that ETFs, index funds, and structured products tracking the Nasdaq 100 typically need to complete portfolio rebalancing around the effective date, meaning SanDisk is expected to see new passive allocation demand.

Considering that the Nasdaq 100 Index is tracked by more than 200 products and over $600 billion in AUM, the marginal effect of these capital inflows is significant.

From a trading perspective, such inclusion often brings higher market visibility and stronger liquidity expectations.

SanDisk had already become a market focal point due to AI storage demand; its entry into the Nasdaq 100 now effectively combines "improving fundamentals" with an "index status upgrade."

For a company already in a strong trend, index inclusion is not the starting point, but rather acts as market validation of its status.

Wall Street analysts are generally bullish on SanDisk's outlook; Mizuho recently raised its price target for SanDisk from $710 to $1,000, while Bernstein further increased its target from $1,000 to $1,250.

The broader signal behind this portfolio rebalancing

Viewed within a broader framework, the latest Nasdaq 100 rebalancing signals a clear directional shift for the market.

The AI rally is no longer just a narrative about large language models, code generation, and application-layer software; storage, bandwidth, and computing infrastructure are also emerging as core assets. SanDisk's inclusion perfectly aligns with the tangible demand for AI data storage, while the removal of TEAM suggests that valuation tolerance for the software sector is declining in the face of the AI surge.

From an investment perspective, the implications of these adjustments are clear: the market is now more willing to pay for AI supply chains with 'tangible demand' rather than just subsidizing software valuations based on 'sound logic.' SanDisk's rise effectively transforms the 'selling storage to AI' narrative into a tradable asset thesis; meanwhile, the change in TEAM reminds investors that software companies are not inherent beneficiaries of the AI era and may instead face significant repricing.

What to watch next?

Leading up to April 20, the market will continue to trade on index rebalancing expectations; the true test, however, will come once the rebalancing is complete.

For SanDisk, the key lies in whether it can continue to translate AI storage demand into earnings and maintain its current stock price strength on a new, higher plateau. For TEAM, the market will observe whether it can return to "fundamentals-driven" pricing after passive capital has cleared, rather than being weighed down by AI software concerns.

Therefore, the significance of this rebalancing goes beyond a simple addition and deletion; the Nasdaq 100 is signaling to the market in the most direct way that the beneficiaries of the AI era are no longer limited to the software layer. Hardware and storage chain companies like SanDisk are moving into the index's core, while software companies face more stringent valuation scrutiny.