Memory Shares Start Week Strong as Sandisk Stock Climbs

Memory Shares Start Week Strong as Sandisk Stock Climbs

Mon, August 17, 2026 at 6:47 PM GMT+3 1 min read

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Memory stocks surged to start the week, with Sandisk recently up 9%.

• Rising demand for AI hardware has driven record sales and profits for chipmakers in recent quarters.

The AI trade is starting the week off strong.

Several hardware makers are among the market's top gainers Monday. Shares of Sandisk (SNDK) were recently up 9%, while data storage rivals Western Digital (WDC), Micron Technology (MU), and Seagate Technology (STX) gained roughly 6%, 6%, and 2%, respectively. All are components of the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), which advanced nearly 8%.

"Memory has historically been viewed as the most cyclical segment of semis," Bank of America analysts wrote last week. But "the industry may be entering a more durable phase," they wrote, with some companies also poised to reward investors with stepped-up buybacks.

Among chipmakers in the green, Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Intel (INTC) were up respective 7% and 2%, respectively, helping the broader iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rise nearly 2.5%. The Nasdaq Composite was clinging to slim gains in recent trading, while the Dow and S&P 500 were edging lower.

While investors have been concerned about the possibility of an AI bubble, many are still betting on chip stocks, with high demand for their hardware boosting sales and profits to record highs in recent quarters.

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