Flash memory storage provider SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) has been attempting to boost its solid state drive (SSD) business through product launches. Accordingly, the company recently launched various products that include USB flash drive and memory cards.
SanDisk added two new offerings namely: SanDisk SSD Plus and the SanDisk Ultra II mSATA SSD to its SSD portfolio. The company intends to display these memory cards at The International CES 2015. These cards will be available from first quarter of fiscal 2015 in capacities ranging from 120GB to 512GB and are priced in a range of $69.99 to $220.99.
The Ultra SanDisk Ultra II mSATA SSD card is an ideal solution for Android smartphones and tablets, enhancing overall drive capacity, reliability and performance. It will enable users to capture songs, photos, videos and documents without worrying about storage limitations. SanDisk believes that the drive is capable of delivering a device with high speed, quickly responding systems and energy efficient features.
On the other hand, the newly-launched SSD Plus is aimed at laptops and desktop PCs. It caters to the needs of emerging IT enterprises, secures data and enhances the performance of data centers and client computing devices.
Further, in response to the strong market demand, the company has unveiled its new Ultra Dual USB 3.0 Flash Drive for PCs and other devices. The new drive comes in a smaller form factor and facilitates faster data transfer than its predecessor — USB 2.0 drives.
In addition, SanDisk’ latest Memory Zone app is also available on the Google (GOOGL) Play store, from where it can be bought for storage connectivity between the smartphone, memory card and the cloud storage space. The new offerings will help the company expand its SSD product profile. With the new product launches, we expect SanDisk to strengthen its market position against competitors like Micron Technology (MU).
Also, SanDisk is making considerable efforts to push its client and enterprise SSD products, which have significant growth prospects and a stable pricing environment. Enterprise class SSDs are faster and more energy efficient than traditional hard drives, which is the main factor driving demand. They also occupy less space and are therefore more suitable for mobile computing devices.
It is worth noting that SSD revenues jumped 48% on a year-over-year basis in the last reported quarter (third-quarter 2014), which is indicative of the company’s long-term prospects. Nonetheless, declining price per gigabyte, primarily due to unfavorable product mix, could impact the company’s results.
Going forward, lackluster PC sales, competition from Seagate Technology Public Limited Co. (STX), and Western Digital and currency fluctuations remain headwinds.
In fact, we see estimates for SanDisk’s upcoming quarter moving down. Over the last 30 days, 1 out of 6 estimates for fiscal 2015 was lowered, as a result of which the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2015 decreased 2 cents to $5.92 per share.
Currently, SanDisk has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
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