SanDisk Surges 628% YTD as Hedge Fund 13F Filings Reveal Sharp Divergence
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SanDisk (SNDK) surged 628% this year before pulling back and rebounding, and top hedge funds took opposite sides in their Q2 13F filings — a fundamental disagreement over whether AI-driven memory demand can sustain the current valuation.
What happened to this stock in 2026?
SanDisk started the year around $235, rallied to a 52-week high of $2,354 — a 628% gain.
It then dropped roughly 50% to about $1,119 before rebounding to around $1,741.
In plain terms = in under a year the stock went from a 10× run to a halving to a bounce — and the passengers on that ride include some of the world's top hedge funds.
Who added shares — and what are they betting on?
Rob Citrone's Discovery Capital raised its position from about 184,000 shares to roughly 208,000 shares. The fund built its initial stake at over $100 million in Q1 and added more in Q2.
Rokos Capital increased its holding by 28%, from 57,063 shares to 72,771 shares — a reversal after cutting from 79,398 shares in Q1.
This means → the bulls' core thesis is that AI demand for memory chips has not peaked, and the current price is still worth the bet.
Who cut or exited entirely?
Stanley Druckenmiller's Duquesne trimmed modestly, from about 38,000 shares to roughly 35,000 shares — a position only built in Q1.
David Tepper's Appaloosa went further — it liquidated all ~280,000 shares, a position also established in Q1.
In plain terms = Tepper bought in one quarter and sold everything the next. That is textbook profit-taking at the top.
How extreme was Renaissance Technologies' exit?
Renaissance Technologies slashed its holding from about 799,600 shares to just 4,980 shares — a drop of more than 99%.
This was the second consecutive quarter of heavy selling. In Q1 the fund had already cut from roughly 1.2 million shares to about 799,600 shares, a 34% reduction.
This means → the quantitative-trading giant took two quarters to almost completely exit SanDisk — one of the strongest bearish signals a 13F filing can deliver.
Why are top funds moving in opposite directions on the same stock?
The core dispute boils down to one question: can AI-driven memory demand sustain SanDisk's current valuation?
Bulls argue that AI compute expansion is just beginning and storage is a necessary link in the chain. Bears believe the stock has already priced in that expectation.
This reflects a market that still has no consensus on how to price "second-tier AI beneficiaries" — subsequent quarters' 13F filings will be the key window into where institutional conviction is heading.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.