SanDisk Corp.'s stock surged 5.08% during intraday trading on Monday, reflecting strong investor interest in the memory chip maker.

The rally follows multiple Wall Street analyst upgrades and bullish commentary on the company's prospects in the AI-driven memory market. Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley significantly raised SanDisk's price target from $1,200 to $2,300 and upgraded the stock from Neutral to Overweight, citing the memory sector's entry into a new phase characterized by long-term contracts, supply tightening, and unprecedented pricing visibility. Other firms including Citi and Mizuho also raised their price targets.

Adding to the positive sentiment, SanDisk's Chief Technology Officer Alper Ilkbahar stated that the global AI race is increasingly becoming memory-centric rather than compute-centric, a trend that could exacerbate chip supply shortages. The company is developing High Bandwidth Flash (HBF) technology, with memory dies expected to sample by year-end and full products launching next year, positioning it well for future AI inference workloads.