UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Reiterates On SanDisk On Mixed Quarter, Strong Outlook

In a report published Thursday, Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore reiterated an Equal-Weight rating on SanDisk SNDK, and raised the price target from $90.00 to $100.00. In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “2q EPS in line, but we expected 14% q/q bit growth, 6% ASP declines, and 3% cost declines; instead they did 31% bit growth, 16% ASP declines, and 12% cost declines, on a lower mix of multichip packages. Revs/EPS of $1.63bn/$1.41 slightly ahead of cons.($1.60bn/$1.39) and MSe ($1.57bn/$1.34) on higher revs and lower opex, offset by lower GMs (47.9% vs. Street at 48.6%). 3q guidance of $1.7bn/$1.48 (at mid-point) below cons. ($1.74bn/$1.57) and just shy of MSe ($1.7bn/$1.52). 3q GM guidance of 47-49% also came in slightly below Street expectations (cons. 48.2%, MSe, 48.7%).” SanDisk closed on Wednesday at $107.83.