New York, March 2, 2026, 16:41 (ET) — Trading after the bell.
Sandisk Corporation slipped 2.6% to $619.08 in after-hours action Monday, after the U.S. markets wrapped at 4 p.m. On the Nasdaq, the flash-memory maker’s shares moved between $609.50 and $624.36 through the session, with volume reaching roughly 17.4 million shares traded.
Stocks swung sharply in the wake of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend, which killed the country’s Supreme Leader. The news jolted oil prices higher and saw investors scrambling in and out of riskier bets. “When people get scared, they go back to what is comfortable,” said Bill Smead, founder and chairman at Smead Capital Management. By later in the session, money had snapped back to well-known plays like Nvidia. Reuters
Sandisk has been acting as a stand-in for hardware names riding the AI wave, thanks to the surge in data center spending by big cloud players and tech firms. “There is very little definitive right now,” said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group, commenting on the back-and-forth among investors over who actually comes out on top in the AI race. That back-and-forth isn’t stopping soon, with this week’s data and earnings likely to keep investors probing the theme. Reuters
Shares tied to storage and AI hardware moved in both directions late. Western Digital dropped 3.4%, Seagate lost 7.0%. Nvidia, on the other hand, climbed 3.0%.
After a rapid climb in recent months, Sandisk shares are now quick to react to shifts in risk appetite. Back in late January, Sandisk flagged soaring AI-fueled demand for flash storage and locked in a supply pact with Kioxia, its Japanese partner, running through 2034. CEO David Goeckeler told Reuters then, “Customers prefer supply over price.” Reuters
Investors remain alert to possible share overhang linked to Western Digital’s split. Back in February, Western Digital revealed plans to raise $3.17 billion by offloading a chunk of its Sandisk stake to pare down debt, with the rest slated for sale in the future.
Macro forces are steering the action here. When oil prices keep climbing, inflation jitters resurface and rate expectations get messier—conditions that usually deal a heavier blow to high-valuation growth names.
There’s another risk, this time on the business’s doorstep: memory cycles. Pricing power can vanish fast if supply starts to slacken, or if big AI customers pull back on spending. Storage makers are typically hit first.
Sandisk execs are set to speak at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Tuesday, with a 7:50 p.m. ET slot. Investors are watching for any word on how data-center demand is shaping up, as well as fresh details on long-term supply agreements.
