Sandisk stock jumps as Citi doubles price target to $490, bucking a weak market

Sandisk stock jumps as Citi doubles price target to $490, bucking a weak market

New York, Jan 20, 2026, 10:14 EST — Regular session

  • Sandisk shares jumped roughly 7% following Citi’s boost of its 12-month price target to $490 from $280.
  • Citi highlighted steady spending from hyperscale cloud data centers, saying it’s driving demand for storage hardware.
  • Investors are zeroing in on Sandisk’s earnings call set for Jan. 29, eager for clues on pricing trends and demand.

Shares of Sandisk Corp jumped Tuesday after Citi boosted its 12-month price target to $490 from $280, reaffirming its Buy rating. The bank cited strong spending from major cloud data-center players as a key driver. Sandisk climbed roughly 7.4% to $444.43 by mid-morning, hitting an intraday peak of $449.80.

The rally held firm despite a broad drop in U.S. stocks, with the Nasdaq-100 slipping around 1.5% and the S&P 500 ETF down about 1.4%. Memory and storage names edged up too, but more modestly: Micron climbed roughly 3.9%, Western Digital rose about 2.3%, and Seagate ticked up close to 1.4%.

Citi’s note highlights just how fast sentiment can flip in the storage sector, driven by every bit of data on cloud spending and demand for components linked to AI workloads.

Sandisk creates storage devices and solutions using NAND flash memory — a technology that stores data in everything from laptops to solid-state drives in data centers.

In a quieter legal update, IPValue Management announced Monday that it granted Sandisk a worldwide, nonexclusive patent license covering a portfolio originally from Cypress Semiconductor. The deal settles all remaining patent disputes between the two firms. Amit Garg, IPValue’s vice president and general manager of the LFMS program, called the talks “productive.” Business Wire

The setup works both ways. Should memory supply ease quicker than anticipated, or if major cloud clients pull back on orders, the stock could swiftly lose ground, particularly following a strong rally and several quick target upgrades.

Sandisk will release its fiscal second-quarter results on Jan. 29 and hold an earnings call at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, the company announced.

Traders are watching closely for clues that pricing remains steady and for management’s take on orders from hyperscalers — the biggest cloud data-center players — who’ve been fueling the recent surge in spending on servers and related gear.

The immediate challenge is straightforward: can Tuesday’s surge stick through the close? And will the Jan. 29 update spark new momentum or trigger a pullback?

Khadija Saeed

Khadija Saeed is a financial markets reporter at TS2.tech, specializing in stocks, technology and emerging industries. She studied economics and finance at the London School of Economics and previously worked in market research before moving into financial journalism. Her coverage focuses on the companies, innovations and economic trends influencing global investors. Follow Khadija Saeed on Google News.

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