SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) shares plummeted 5.03% during intraday trading on Tuesday, marking a significant downturn for the memory chip maker.

The sharp decline followed an announcement by short-seller Citron Research that it had taken a short position in SanDisk. Citron cited concerns about cyclical pressures in the memory market and intensifying competition from Samsung, which it described as the "800-pound gorilla" in the industry with a history of prioritizing market share over margins.

The research firm also pointed to Western Digital's recent sale of a significant portion of its SanDisk holdings at prices 25% below current levels as a warning sign. Citron argued that while the market has been pricing SanDisk like NVIDIA, there's a key difference: "NVIDIA has a moat. SanDisk sells a commodity."