Strength in the NAND flash memory chip market, and from Apple’s iPhone in particular, should help SanDisk beat expectations when it reports Q2 earnings when it reports tomorrow, according to a note today from Stifel Nicolaus analyst Patrick Ho.
SanDisk shares are coming under pressure this morning after Needham analyst Y. Edwin Mok cut his rating on the stock to Under Perform from Hold.
Mok writes in a research note that the downgrade reflects “early signs of weakness in the NAND flash memory sector that we believe will lead to lower prices.”
Toshiba is suspending flash memory production at two of its plants, but only for nine days. The company denies plans to shut down the plants completely, though it plans to speed up restructuring at its money-losing chip operations.
In October, Samsung withdrew a bid to acquire SanDisk. Some speculated that Toshiba would swoop in and rescue the company, but it didn’t happen. Today, SanDisk shares rallied due to the same rumors about Toshiba–analysts noted that Toshiba could no more afford the acquisition now than it could in in the fall.
In case you happen to think that Toshiba is going to outbid Samsung for SanDisk (SNDK), you ought to take note of the company’s currently grim view of the NAND flash memory market.
In fact, as Bloomberg reports, Toshiba today cut its full-year net income forecast for the March 31, 2009, fiscal year by 46 percent to 70 billion yen, which would be a four-year low.
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