SanDisk will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index, with its share price up over 300% this year.

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Multiple positive catalysts occurred simultaneously, causing SanDisk stock to surge on Monday, with year-to-date gains exceeding 300%.

On Monday, SanDisk shares jumped about 12% to $952.50, bringing its total gain this year to 301%. The U.S. storage chip and hardware supply chain-related index rose 3.31% on the same day, hitting a new all-time high.

Last Friday, April 10, Nasdaq announced that SanDisk will replace Atlassian before the market opens on Monday, April 20, 2026, becoming a component of the Nasdaq 100 Index.

Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts are raising SanDisk's target price. Citi analyst Asiya Merchant increased SanDisk's target price by 12% to $980, further boosting market sentiment.

Index rebalancing brings passive buying

Joining major indices like Nasdaq 100 or S&P 500 has always had a short-term boosting effect on constituent stocks, with forced buying from passive funds being the core driver.

Nasdaq announced it will remove software company Atlassian and include SanDisk in the Nasdaq 100 Index before April 20.

According to index rules, index funds and ETFs tracking the Nasdaq 100 must sell Atlassian and buy SanDisk. The demand from rebalancing will provide additional buying support.

Removed Atlassian’s stock price has fallen 65% so far this year, and the market widely worries that the rise of AI could impact the traditional software industry's business model. Despite being about to be removed from the index, Atlassian’s stock still rebounded by more than 7% on Monday.

Wall Street raises target price, AI demand is the core logic

Citi analyst Asiya Merchant raised SanDisk's target price to $980 from the previous level.

Merchant believes that demand for computer memory continues to be steady, prices keep rising, and SanDisk's revenue and profits are increasing in tandem. Merchant says as long as this trend continues, SanDisk's growth trajectory will remain strongly predictable.

Additionally, Jefferies also raised SanDisk's target price from $700 to $1,000.

SanDisk's stock has risen over 300% so far this year, with gains reaching about 2879% in the past 12 months, making it one of the most outstanding performers in the market. However, the rapid rise in share price also raises the bar for future performance verification.

The market expects SanDisk will announce its Q3 fiscal 2026 results on April 30, with EPS forecast to rebound sharply from a loss of $0.30 per share last year to a profit of $14.23 per share. This expected leap in profitability is substantial, and if actual results fail to meet expectations, downside pressure on the stock should not be underestimated.

In the short term, the passive buying effect from index rebalancing is expected to gradually fade after April 20, and the boost from analysts' target prices is also a temporary factor. SanDisk's medium- and long-term share price performance will ultimately depend on whether its fundamentals can support the current valuation.

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