A Once-in-a-Decade Buying Opportunity: Sandisk and Micron Shares Are Dirt Cheap and Look Primed to Skyrocket

Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) and Micron (NASDAQ: MU) are among the best-performing S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) components this year. Sandisk is the highest-performing stock so far in 2026, returning nearly 600%, while Micron comes in fourth, up nearly 250%. After runs like that, it may seem odd to say that these two are dirt cheap and could skyrocket, but that's exactly what the setup looks like.

With each stock sitting well below its all-time high (Micron is down more than 20% while Sandisk is down around 35%), now is a great time to buy them, and it could be a once-in-a-decade opportunity in terms of how much they could soar.

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The memory chip shortage won't ease up anytime soon

These two share a common product: memory chips. Memory chips are important components in all computing devices, and have several different use cases, including short-term working memory and long-term data storage. Data centers heavily utilize both types of components, and the type of memory chips that go into these products differs as well.

NAND memory is used for long-term information storage and is produced by both Micron and Sandisk. DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) is used for rapid-access memory, and is often embedded inside high-powered computing units like GPUs. Micron is the only one of these two that makes DRAM.

Both of these memory chip types are in heavy demand thanks to the AI data center boom. Because there is limited production capacity and nearly unlimited demand, prices for these chips have soared. As a result, both Sandisk and Micron have produced incredible results over the past year.

SNDK Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts.

However, if this supply-and-demand imbalance sounds like something that should be a temporary situation, that's because it is.

There are two things that could bring an end to today's exceptionally high memory chip prices ... well, maybe three. The first would be for demand to decrease. Considering that there are several projections predicting that the AI data center will last through at least 2030, that outcome won't arrive for awhile. The second would be for supply to rise due to increased production,

All of the major players in the memory chip market are building new foundries to boost their capacity and allow them to take advantage of high demand. However, most of these facilities aren't expected to start coming online until late 2027 to 2028, and it's possible that as they do, the AI hyperscalers will immediately scoop up this increased supply, leaving the market largely in the same situation that it's in now. The third, and least likely, is some government-mandated pricing cap, but I don't think we're nearing that point yet.

During its last earnings announcement, Micron informed investors that it doesn't anticipate the tightness in the memory chip market being resolved until after 2027. That leaves a lot of time for Sandisk and Micron to generate huge growth, and their stocks could be primed to skyrocket as a result.

Both stocks are cheap

Sandisk just wrapped up its fiscal 2026 in June, so we'll measure its stock price based on its fiscal 2027 earnings estimates.

SNDK PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.

At just 7 times forward earnings, Sandisk looks like a steal. If it can rally to over 30 times forward earnings -- where it traded in June -- the stock could quadruple over the next year.

Micron wraps up its current fiscal year in August, so I'll value it using its fiscal 2027 estimates as well.

MU PE Ratio (Forward 1y) data by YCharts.

At 6 times forward earnings, Micron is even cheaper, and if it could rise to a similar multiple as Sandisk, it could see incredible upside.

These stocks may not be long-term buy-and-hold investments due to the volatile nature of the memory chip market, but if they can rise to respectable valuations throughout 2027, each one could provide incredible gains for investors, making them great buys now.

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