Key Takeaways
- Mizuho increased Sandisk’s (SNDK) price objective to $2,200 from $1,825, keeping an Outperform rating intact
- Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate (STX) both saw price target increases from the investment firm
- Artificial intelligence applications are creating a mismatch between memory supply and demand, with DRAM requirements expected to surge 27% year-over-year in 2026
- Google’s (GOOGL) Tensor Processing Unit deliveries may reach 35M+ units by 2028, jumping from approximately 4.3M in 2026, amplifying memory needs
- Broadcom (AVGO) AI-related revenue projections increased to $122B for 2027, with a new $170B forecast introduced for 2028
Investment firm Mizuho has boosted its price objective for Sandisk (SNDK) to $2,200, up from the previous $1,825 target, attributing the increase to artificial intelligence creating demand that significantly outstrips available supply in memory markets. The Outperform rating remains unchanged.
The optimistic outlook wasn’t limited to Sandisk alone. Mizuho elevated its target for Seagate Technology (STX) to $1,090 from $875, while Western Digital (WDC) saw its target climb to $685 from $550. Each of these three companies maintained their Outperform classifications.
Seagate Technology Holdings plc, STX
Sandisk began trading Monday at $1,982 and has climbed approximately 5.69% during the session after the announcement.
Vijay Rakesh, the lead analyst, along with his research team, anticipates DRAM wafer production starts will increase 10% throughout 2026 and an additional 6% in 2027, primarily fueled by high-bandwidth memory (HBM) requirements. Their models show DRAM consumption expanding 27% year-over-year in 2026, followed by 24% growth in 2027.
Regarding NAND technology, enterprise SSD (eSSD) represents the primary catalyst for demand expansion. The firm’s projections indicate total NAND consumption will grow 18% year-over-year in both 2026 and 2027, though wafer production starts are anticipated to decline 5% in 2026 before rebounding 3% in 2027. Additional manufacturing capacity isn’t expected to come online until 2028.
Google TPU Projections Take Center Stage
During Mizuho’s quarterly AI ASIC roadmap discussion, the forecasts for Google’s Tensor Processing Units stood out significantly. The research team anticipates more than 35 million TPU units shipping from Google by 2028, a substantial increase from approximately 4.3M in 2026 and roughly 2.4M in 2025.
This substantial expansion is connected to Google’s strategy of distributing TPU technology externally via collaborations with Anthropic and other partners. Mizuho notes this projection significantly exceeds their earlier forecast of approximately 7 million ASIC shipments linked to Broadcom, suggesting considerable upside potential for the semiconductor manufacturer.
Broadcom AI Revenue Projections Increased
Broadcom (AVGO) may experience 50 million cumulative TPU shipments spanning 2026 through 2028. Additionally, Meta’s (META) MTIA v3/v4/v5 accelerator platforms and OpenAI’s forthcoming ASIC — where Broadcom serves as a critical partner — contribute additional positive momentum.
Mizuho elevated its Broadcom AI-related revenue projection for 2027 to $122B from the previous $120B estimate, while introducing a new 2028 forecast of $170B. The firm views TPU as Broadcom’s primary AI product offering.
Rakesh’s research group stated that investor worries regarding ASIC versus GPU market positioning and potential MediaTek competition are “overblown,” recommending investors take advantage of recent AVGO price weakness.
The analysts further noted that the optimistic scenario for TPU ASICs in 2028, combined with OpenAI, MTIA, and ARM-related ASICs, presents favorable conditions for memory manufacturers like Micron (MU) and Sandisk, as well as storage companies including Western Digital and Seagate.
Sandisk currently trades at a P/E multiple of 58.32x, considerably above its historical median valuation of 29.61x, indicating the market’s anticipation of robust future expansion. Corporate insider transactions during the most recent three-month period show $8.9 million in stock sales, with zero purchases recorded.
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