Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) extended its decline Thursday as investors continued reducing exposure to AI-linked semiconductor and memory stocks following the U.S. midterm elections.

The stock slid almost 18% in Thursday trading, with S&P 500 futures down 2.54%. That points to continued pressure within the chip sector rather than a broader market selloff. In other words, this is a memory-chip problem, not a whole-market problem.

Memory Stocks Extend Post-Midterm Selloff

The decline spread across the memory complex.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) fell more than 5% before the bell after dropping nearly 7% Wednesday. In comparison, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SOXX) declined almost 5% after losing about 3% in the previous session.

SK Hynix Inc. (NASDAQ: SKHY), Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (NASDAQ: STX) and Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) also fell roughly 5%-7% Thursday after closing 5%-8% lower Wednesday.

The moves follow a post-election rotation away from crowded semiconductor and AI supply-chain positions.

Mixed read-throughs from recent Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Arm Holdings Plc (NASDAQ: ARM) results have also kept attention on capacity constraints and the sustainability of growth across the chip industry.

Ives Sees More Downside, Lee Calls Selloff Overdone

Tech analyst Dan Ives said semiconductor stocks could fall another 10%-12% during the current pullback.

By contrast, Fundstrat's Tom Lee called the AI selloff an "overreaction" and said technology stocks could rally roughly 20% if hedge funds rotate back into the sector before year-end.

With broader futures holding relatively steady, SanDisk's steeper decline reflects its higher sensitivity to the ongoing AI and memory-stock unwind.

Technical Analysis

SanDisk remains up 379.17% over the past 12 months, but its recent decline has pushed the stock below all its major trend indicators.

The stock trades 27.2% below its 20-day SMA, 36.9% below its 50-day SMA and 23.8% below its 200-day SMA.

That setup keeps the near- and intermediate-term technical trend under pressure until the stock begins reclaiming those moving averages.

Analyst Outlook

Sandisk carries a Buy consensus rating with an average price forecast of $2,176.43.

Recent analyst actions include Fox Advisors downgrading the stock to Equal-Weight on Nov. 2, Rosenblatt maintaining Buy with a $2,400 target on Oct. 30, and Wells Fargo maintaining Equal-Weight while lowering its target to $1,300 on Oct. 30.

ETF Exposure

SanDisk carries sizable weights in the Invesco S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF (NYSE: RPG) at 6.94%, First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (NYSE: FPX) at 5.85% and Invesco S&P Spin-Off ETF (NYSE: CSD) at 6.08%.

Large inflows or outflows in those funds could translate into corresponding buying or selling of Sandisk shares.

SNDK Price Action: Sandisk shares were down 16.95% at $861.54 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to market data.