Bank of America Raises EPS Estimate on SanDisk

In a research report published today, Bank of America has increased EPS estimates for SanDisk Corp.

, as the company stands to benefit from Elpida's bankruptcy. Bank of America commented in the report, “Elpida's bankruptcy implies long-term upside potential to the NAND industry and SanDisk's top-line growth. The reasons include: 1) a potential increase in DRAM supply at the expense of NAND among Samsung, Hynix and Micron (Elpida's DRAM market share was about 20% in 2009-11); and 2) a higher entry barriers in NAND (Tier 2 DRAM vendors' notable woes such as Elpida's bankruptcy; further, Powerchip's NAND production increase will likely be minimal). We also observe slightly better-than-expected NAND chip orders from Chinese OEMs coupled with their more aggressive promotion of new smartphones, tablets and ultrabook.” Bank of America maintains its Buy rating and $73 PT on SanDisk, which is currently trading at $50.96.