16 Wall Street Analysts Couldn't Disagree More on Sandisk's Price Target

Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) stock has rocketed 2,800% higher over the past year as demand for the company's memory processors has spiked, with tech companies snatching up swaths of memory for artificial intelligence data centers.

Analysts differ greatly on their price targets for the stock, with some setting it as low as $1,300 and others as high as $3,000 -- with the average about $2,220. But they overwhelmingly agree on one thing: Sandisk stock is a buy.

Here's why analysts disagree on Sandisk's price target, yet still believe this memory stock is a smart long-term bet.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Why do analysts have such a wide range of price targets?

One of the main reasons analysts differ on their Sandisk price targets is that it's difficult to know how long the current NAND memory shortage will last.

The rise in demand for memory has led tech companies to buy up as much memory as possible, resulting in a shortage. This shortage has, in turn, pushed up gross profit across many memory companies, causing earnings to skyrocket.

But not everyone is convinced this is a long-term trend. Morningstar Chief Market Strategist David Sekera said recently: "I still think it's more of a commodity-oriented product. At some point, supply is going to catch up, and when that happens, look out below."

Sandisk's gross margin was nearly 85% in Q4 of fiscal 2026 (ended July 3) -- up from just 26.4% in the year-ago quarter -- and its non-GAAP earnings spiked to $39.25 per share, up from just $0.29 in the year-ago quarter.

Some of the more bullish analysts believe the memory shortage will last several more years, potentially driving earnings higher for longer.

For example, J.P. Morgan analyst Harlan Sur said Sandisk's latest quarterly results, "suggest a viable path toward stronger earnings power, dampened cyclicality, and more durable fundamentals."

The majority of analysts agree that Sandisk stock is a buy

It's not surprising that analysts have different views on how long the memory crunch will be and what it means for Sandisk.

Technology companies are spending an unprecedented amount of money on artificial intelligence data centers -- at least $750 billion in capital expenditures this year alone -- and there appears to be no end in sight for the spending. Alphabet just raised its capex spending target to up to $205 billion for this year and said it'll probably spend more in 2027.

It's also unclear how much data center capacity will be needed for advanced AI models and other AI services. Nearly every tech company is adding artificial intelligence features to their software, which requires computing power that didn't exist just a few years ago.

A handful of analysts lowered their price targets after Sandisk's management issued first-quarter revenue guidance of about $10.5 billion, at the midpoint, below the consensus average of $10.8 billion.

What's clear, though, is that Sandisk is benefiting from this unprecedented AI boom, and that analysts overwhelmingly -- 13 of 16 analysts -- rate Sandisk stock as a buy.

And in general, most estimates anticipate that memory demand will remain elevated for several more years. Management at Micron Technology, a memory company, said recently, "We expect tight conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027 as a result of AI-driven demand across all segments coupled with structural supply constraints."

And leadership at memory manufacturer SK Hynix said earlier this year that the memory shortage will persist through 2030.

Sandisk stock has a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of about 42, compared to the tech sector P/E ratio of 34, so investors are paying for a bit of a premium right now, but not by much.

With Sandisk stock down about 47% from its all-time high, and with memory demand likely to remain elevated thanks to AI, now could be a good time to buy the stock.

Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.