Rosenblatt Starts SanDisk at Buy With $2,400 Target on AI NAND Thesis

Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage of SanDisk (SNDK) with a Buy rating and a $2,400 price target on Sept. 22. The call landed after SanDisk shares had surged 644% year-to-date in 2026, according to CNBC.

Rosenblatt argued AI workloads are repricing NAND flash from commodity storage into critical AI infrastructure, according to 24/7 Wall St.. The $2,400 target was reported alongside the initiation on the same day, according to Invezz. The thesis links the valuation to AI workloads and storage intensity.

SanDisk had already been identified as a beneficiary of AI-driven demand for memory and storage products, a point noted in August, according to CNBC. On Jan. 22, Bloomberg reported memory and storage stocks were the market's hottest trade as AI redefined the memory market.

April provides a marker for the scale of the advance. On April 27, CNBC reported SanDisk gained 8.1% on Monday and was up over 3,000% in the past year, with market capitalization above $157 billion, according to CNBC.

The broader context here is the valuation question embedded in the infrastructure label. A commodity framework prices NAND on cycle timing, utilization and mean reversion. An infrastructure framework prices it on duration, throughput and system-level necessity. That change matters for multiples. It also matters for how investors underwrite downside. It requires confidence not only in volumes but in persistence of pricing power. For a trading desk, the distinction determines holding period, tolerance for drawdowns and how earnings revisions are weighted against multiple change.

In my view, initiating after a 644% year-to-date run reframes the target. It is not a call on mean reversion. It is a call that the prior repricing was incomplete. For professionals, the test is whether end-demand and contract structures support that extension, or whether spot pricing and inventory behavior still dictate the cycle. Coverage initiations late in a sharp move often function as framework notes. They tell institutional holders how to justify continued exposure. Rosenblatt has taken a position. The market had already placed a large bet.

Looking at what this means for risk, the setup is concentrated. Momentum is extreme. Expectations are elevated. The thesis depends on AI workloads sustaining storage intensity at scale. If that holds, investors can justify looking through cyclical volatility. If it falters, the distance to a commodity multiple is wide. That does not make the $2,400 target right or wrong. It makes the path dependent on revisions, not rerating alone. Discipline around position sizing and revision risk counts more than the target itself.