--- title: "Sandisk or Applied Materials: Morgan Stanley Says Only One Stock Is a Buy Right Now" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/295958026.md" description: "Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore maintains a Buy rating on Sandisk (SNDK) with a $1,750 price target, citing tightening NAND supply/demand and strong AI infrastructure demand. In contrast, Applied Materials (AMAT) saw its stock drop 5% after fiscal Q3 results, despite beating estimates, as the market had higher expectations. Morgan Stanley views Sandisk's long-term growth model and commitment to returning excess cash flow favorably, while noting AMAT's performance did not sufficiently satisfy elevated investor sentiment." datetime: "2026-08-14T16:17:56.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/295958026.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295958026.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/295958026.md) --- # Sandisk or Applied Materials: Morgan Stanley Says Only One Stock Is a Buy Right Now **Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK)** and **Applied Materials** **(NASDAQ:AMAT)** are moving in opposite directions following two closely watched events this week. Sandisk has jumped about 20% over the past two trading sessions following Thursday's Investor Day, while Applied Materials is down about 5% Friday after reporting fiscal third-quarter results Thursday evening. ### Claim 55% Off TipRanks High conviction on SNDK? Try Tradr's SNXX or SNDQ Sandisk gave investors several reasons to remain optimistic about the memory maker's longer-term growth prospects. Management introduced a financial model for fiscal 2028 through fiscal 2030 calling for mid-to-high-teens annual revenue growth, adjusted gross margins around 80%, adjusted operating margins near 75%, and adjusted free-cash-flow margins around 50%. The company plans to return 100% of excess cash after investing in the business, adding another element that investors appeared to appreciate. Applied Materials delivered solid quarterly results, although the market had entered the report expecting more from the semiconductor-equipment giant. Fiscal third-quarter revenue rose 25% year-over-year to $9.12 billion, while adjusted earnings reached $3.50 per share, with both figures exceeding consensus expectations. The company projected fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of ~$10.25 billion, above Wall Street's $9.54 billion estimate, although the results were not strong enough to satisfy the elevated expectations surrounding the stock. Following Sandisk's Investor Day rally and Applied Materials' post-earnings slide, Morgan Stanley analysts see a meaningful difference between the two investment cases right now. Starting with Sandisk, Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore, who ranks among the top 2% of Wall Street analysts, came away from management's Investor Day presentation with his bullish view intact. "We remain convicted that the 3Q supply/demand for NAND is tightening," Moore wrote, arguing that reports suggesting weaker price increases no longer reflect current purchasing conditions. Large hyperscalers committing cash toward memory deliveries extending into 2029 provide another reason for his confidence, particularly when those customers must carefully allocate capital among competing AI infrastructure requirements. Moore does not assume Sandisk's current profitability will remain permanent at today's unusually elevated levels. However, the analyst believes restrained supply growth, expanding data-center requirements, and shortages elsewhere within memory and storage could keep profitability elevated for several years. "We can stay at or above these margin levels for multiple years," Moore added. Moore sees limited reason to worry about how newer customer contracts eventually perform throughout an entire memory cycle while NAND supplies remain scarce. The analyst has "very high conviction" that tight availability can persist while AI infrastructure investment continues at its current pace. The analyst was particularly encouraged by Sandisk's decision to return excess free cash flow after funding operations. Moore said Morgan Stanley's enthusiasm was driven "mostly by the FCF return commitment," alongside what he described as "a reasonable long-term model." Against this backdrop, Moore assigns SNDK shares an Overweight (i.e., Buy) rating alongside a $1,750 price target. (To watch Moore's track record, click here) Moore has lots of company on Wall Street when it comes to Sandisk. In fact, the consensus suggests SNDK is a Strong Buy, with 14 analysts recommending buying it and only 2 remaining on the sidelines. The $2,209.38 average price target points to about 36% upside over the next 12 months. 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