New York, February 19, 2026, 16:52 ET — Trading after hours
- Sandisk shares picked up 3.5% to close at $621.09 Thursday. After the bell, the stock barely budged.
- Western Digital set the price for its 5.8 million-share secondary offering at $545, moving forward with plans aimed at reducing its debt load.
- Traders are eyeing how the block settles—and keeping close tabs on what Western Digital does next with its remaining stake.
Sandisk Corp (SNDK) finished Thursday’s session up 3.5% at $621.09, then edged down to $620.51 in after-hours trading, off 0.1%. The NAND flash manufacturer, which makes storage for SSDs and memory cards, announced that former parent Western Digital had priced its secondary share sale at $545. Shares moved between $590.30 and $634.47, with volume hitting roughly 19.1 million. (Investing)
This deal is landing at a critical moment, dropping a hefty chunk of shares onto the market and marking a new step in Western Digital’s move to shed its old flash business. According to Reuters, Western Digital expects to pull in roughly $3.17 billion from the sale, with the aim of trimming down its debt. (Reuters)
Here, it’s a secondary offering—meaning current shareholders are offloading shares, rather than the company itself securing fresh capital. What’s more, it’s structured as a debt-for-equity swap: creditors hand over debt and get stock in exchange, which wipes out some liabilities without any money actually changing hands.
Sandisk won’t see any of the proceeds from the sale. Western Digital plans to swap the shares for debt owed to affiliates of J.P. Morgan and Bank of America, then pass the stock along to investors. After the transaction, Western Digital is set to retain roughly 1.69 million Sandisk shares, with plans to sell those off down the line.
Last February, Western Digital spun off about 80% of Sandisk to its shareholders, holding onto a 19.9% stake, according to a registration statement. Sandisk’s shares hit the Nasdaq for regular-way trading on Feb. 24, 2025. (SEC)
It was a rough session for stocks. The Invesco QQQ trust closed down 0.4%, with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF off 0.3%. Western Digital tumbled roughly 4%. Seagate Technology, a key competitor, shed 3.6%.
Evercore ISI’s Amit Daryanani described the move as “a material acceleration of WDC’s deleveraging efforts,” highlighting how it gives Western Digital more room for capital returns, including buybacks. CFO Kris Sennesael made it clear: “it’s our intention to monetize those shares before the one-year anniversary of the separation,” aiming to get it done by Feb. 21 to sidestep tax issues. (MarketWatch)
Sandisk caught fire during the memory-chip surge, fueled by AI data-center demand and a squeeze in critical parts. Shares soared 141.6% in 2026 through Feb. 17, building on a 577.1% rocket ride in 2025, according to Investors.com. (Investors)
Still, secondary blocks aren’t without near-term risks. That $545 price tag is roughly 12% under where shares finished on Thursday. Shares could get shaky—say, if buyers push for an even steeper discount to take on the new supply, or if Western Digital moves faster unloading what’s left of its stake.
Regular trading wrapped up, leaving Friday’s session as the next focus: will Sandisk manage to stay above the $545 deal price through settlement? The timeline squeezes closer to Feb. 21, Western Digital’s one-year point tied to a tax-free sale.
