Sandisk (SNDK) stock jumps 16% after-hours as board adds First Solar CFO and chip rally kicks off 2026

Sandisk (SNDK) stock jumps 16% after-hours as board adds First Solar CFO and chip rally kicks off 2026

NEW YORK, Jan 2, 2026, 17:40 ET — After-hours

  • Sandisk shares were up about 16% at $275.24 in after-hours trading, after ranging from $242.00 to $277.66.
  • The flash-memory maker said it appointed First Solar CFO Alexander R. Bradley to its board and audit committee. Business Wire
  • Investors are looking ahead to Sandisk’s Jan. 29 earnings call and next week’s U.S. jobs and inflation data. Business Wire

Shares of Sandisk Corp rose about 16% to $275.24 in after-hours trading on Friday, after the first regular U.S. session of 2026. After-hours trading is the period outside the 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET session when stocks continue to trade.

The move put the storage maker among the day’s biggest gainers as investors rotated back into chip and AI-linked hardware names. The Philadelphia semiconductor index ended up 4% on Friday, according to Reuters. Reuters

Sandisk also announced after the close that it appointed Alexander R. Bradley, chief financial officer of First Solar, to its board of directors and audit committee. The governance update landed as investors set positions for January’s economic data and the start of the quarterly earnings season. Business Wire

Bradley has served as CFO of First Solar since 2016, the company said, and his appointment was effective Dec. 30, 2025. “Alex brings exceptional operational finance expertise and strategic insights to Sandisk’s board,” chairman and CEO David Goeckeler said. Business Wire

In a Form 3 filing, Bradley reported no beneficial ownership of Sandisk securities, an SEC document showed. A Form 3 is an initial statement insiders file when they become a director or officer subject to U.S. reporting rules. SEC

Sandisk traded between $242.00 and $277.66 on the day and last stood near the upper end of that range in extended trade. The stock’s prior close was $237.36, implying a one-day gain of roughly 16%.

Other storage and memory names also moved sharply higher. Western Digital was up about 9%, Micron gained about 10.5% and Seagate added about 4.4%, based on late pricing.

Sandisk develops data storage devices and solutions based on NAND flash, a type of memory used in smartphones and solid-state drives. Solid-state drives, or SSDs, store data on chips rather than spinning disks and are commonly used in laptops and data centers. Reuters

The company became a standalone public business after Western Digital completed a spin-off of its flash unit on Feb. 21, 2025, a filing showed. Sandisk’s common stock began trading on Nasdaq under the symbol “SNDK.” SEC

Next on Sandisk’s calendar is its fiscal second-quarter report on Jan. 29, when management will host a conference call, the company said. Traders will be focused on commentary around data-center demand, flash pricing and any updates to spending plans. Business Wire

Beyond the company’s own results, the U.S. employment report due Jan. 9 and the consumer price index report on Jan. 13 are likely to steer rate expectations and risk appetite, Reuters reported. Those shifts can hit high-momentum technology stocks hardest. Reuters

From a technical standpoint, investors will be watching whether Sandisk holds above its prior close near $237 and whether it can retest Friday’s peak near $278. A pullback toward $242 would put the day’s lows back in view.

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