SanDisk shares tumble 14% amid AI hardware selloff

Shares of SanDisk Corporation plunged sharply this week, falling as much as 14% in a single session, as a broad selloff in artificial intelligence hardware stocks triggered a wave of profit-taking following an extraordinary rally. The memory storage company's stock, which had surged roughly 858% from its 52-week low, tumbled on Thursday, July 2, hitting a session low of $1,707.58. The decline was part of a sector-wide technical correction affecting semiconductor and memory names, with investors rotating capital out of hardware and into AI software companies.

The selloff occurred despite a series of bullish analyst upgrades and continued optimism about the company's long-term fundamentals. Just days earlier, on Tuesday, June 30, Bernstein analyst Mark Newman raised his price target on SanDisk to $3,000 from $1,700, maintaining an Outperform rating. The firm cited new long-term supply agreements featuring fixed or range-bound pricing and upfront financial commitments, which are seen as reducing earnings volatility.

Similarly, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a Buy rating on Wednesday, July 1, and increased his price target to $2,500 from $2,100. In a client note,...