SanDisk (SNDK) is a global leader in the flash memory card market and competes with Hynix, Micron (MU), Samsung, STMicroelectronics, Toshiba and IM Flash (a joint venture of Micron and Intel). We earlier discussed the rising popularity of tablet devices and its potential impact on our $50.60 Trefis Price Estimate for SanDisk's Stock, which is about 17% above the market price. (See SanDisk's Opportunity in the Tablet Market.)

In its February 2011 Analyst Day Presentation, SanDisk provided its estimates for the tablet market and the flash storage per tablet device (in Gb/unit). Based on the data available, we will soon be updating our SanDisk model to account for the tablets as a separate division.

After Friday's beating, where SanDisk Corporation (SNDK) fell around 9%, the stock looks compelling. SNDK shares fell after the company reported better than expected earnings because investors were concerned about a miss on margins. The company reported net income of $307 million or $1.27 per share compared to analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09.

Analyst Upgrades

• Verizon (VZ), FEMSA (FMX), Vornado (VNO), Duke Realty (DRE) and AvalonBay (AVB) to buy from neutral, as well as Carnival (CCL) to conviction buy from buy, at Goldman.
• Symantec (SYMC) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Copano Energy (CPNO), DCP Midstream (DPM) and Inergy (NRGY) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• SYNNEX (SNX) to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Eli Lilly (LLY) to hold from sell at Hapoalim.
• World Wrestling (WWE) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• SanDisk (SNDK) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• JPMorgan resumed Potash (POT) at overweight, up from neutral.
• Ariba (ARBA) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Cirrus Logic (CRUS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Tesoro (TSO) to overweight from equal weight.
• Solarfun Power (SOLF) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Barclays upgraded Ciena (CIEN) to overweight from equal weight.
• Optimer Pharm (OPTR) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Argo Group (AGII) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Green Mountain (GMCR) to buy from underperform and Southern Company (SO) to neutral from underperform.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Community Health (CYH) to buy from hold based on expectations for improved 2011 demand. The firm has a $40 price target on the stock.
• Wunderlich upgraded Invesco Mortgage (IVR) to buy from hold following the company's better-than-expected Q3 dividend. The firm also raised its target price for shares to $23.50 from $21.50.
• Goldman upgraded SuccessFactors (SFSF) to conviction buy from buy, citing cloud exposure.
• Vulcan Materials (VMC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Comstock Resources (CRK) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ladenburg.
• Trimble Navigation (TRMB) was upgraded to buy from hold at Canaccord.

Manpower (MAN) closed up $1.96 to $46.87. MAN overall option implied volatility of 37 is near its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

SanDisk (SNDK) closed up $1.18 to $36. SNDK September put option implied volatility is at 54, October is at 55, January is at 55; above its 26 week average of 51. SNDK call option volume of 38K contracts compares to put volume of 14K contracts according to Track Data, suggesting traders taking positions for price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Technology firm SanDisk (SNDK) is enjoying a nice morning thanks to favorable coverage from brokerage firm UBS.

The brokerage house upgraded SanDisk to buy from neutral and assigned a new target price of $55 per share, an elevation from $46 per share. UBS's analyst believes that strong second-half demand will outweigh any risks the stock may hold. The analyst predicts "better than expected ASP trends" continuing in the second half, combining with tight market supply to boost the shares.

Analyst Upgrades

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to buy from neutral with a $30 price target, citing valuation and expectations for strong Q4 results.
• UBS upgraded SanDisk (SNDK) to buy from neutral based on favorable pricing and mobile design win momentum. The firm raised its target to $55 from $46.
• BMO Capital upgraded Medtronic (MDT) to outperform from market perform based on valuation and its product pipeline. The firm has a $48 price target on the stock.
• Lorillard (LO) and Qualcomm (QCOM) were upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Monsanto (MON) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• FedEx (FDX) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

BHP Billiton (BHP) was up $1.11 to $63.81. Copper was up 1.52% according to Bloomberg. BHP July and August put option implied volatility is at 43, November is at 45; above its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

SanDisk Corporation (SNDK) is recently closed at $41.67. July put option implied volatility is at 71, October is at 63, January is at 61; above its 26 week average of 56 according to Track Data, suggesting larger July price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

If you're looking for a stock that can ride Apple's (AAPL) coattails higher, look no further than SanDisk (SNDK).

SanDisk makes the flash memory that goes in every iPad Apple makes. And right now, that is a lot of iPads.

Of course, SanDisk is not wholly dependent on Apple. With the tablet wars taking off and smartphone and GPS sales increasing, demand for SanDisk's flash memory continues to grow from every angle.

"Each week, we assess the market's strongest stocks and highlight ten that appear to offer the best prospects," explains Mike Cintolo.

The editor of Cabot Top Ten adds, "Below, we offer our fundamental and technical analysis of three technology stocks that meet this criteria: F5 (FFIV), a player in cloud computing; NetApp (NTAP), a leader in networked data storage; and SanDisk (SNDK), the global leader of the solid state flash memory industry.

The earnings crunch is on. Intel (INTC) and IBM (IBM) have already reported strong earnings results, and some of this week's biggest anticipated earnings gainers are also tech stocks: Apple (AAPL), AT&T (T) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) to report that its earnings rose 57.1% from a year ago to $0.49 per share for the three months that ended in December. Revenue is expected to total $3.0 billion, up 19.5% from a year ago, during a fourth quarter in which it raised its guidance and declared a quarterly dividend. But the full-year forecast is for earnings of $1.13 per share (-28.0%) on $10.4 billion in revenue (-16.8%). This Dallas-based semiconductor maker's earnings results have been better than expected in the past four quarters, beating estimates by as much as nine cents per share.

The transmission of data wirelessly is the new big movement in tech. Kindles, 4G phones, tablets and more will soon be flooding marketplaces worldwide. The wireless and new telecom revolution will be sweeping the market place for years to come. This leads the investor to the obvious question: "How do I make a buck off all this?"

Here, for your consideration, are some stocks likely to thrive in the wireless tech revolution. As new devices and functionalities come onto the market, each of these stocks could perform strongly. Share prices are as of Wednesday's close.

"For two years chips stocks have unequivocally stunk; the industry has been mired in a host of problems, including massive overcapacity and shrinking demand," says Toby Smith, adding, "But that's changing."

In his ChangeWave Investing, he suggests, "One recommendation in this sector is SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK), the leader in flash memory -- one of the strongest segments in semis today."

"For the second quarter in a row the semiconductor sector is showing major signs of momentum that are so good that the industry ranked at the top of the nearly 20 industries we track each quarter.

"The bottom line is that these results clearly indicate that it is time to be invested in the semis, and the best way to do this is with two short-term plays.

Technology sector expert Paul McWilliams offers an intriguing look at the new iPhone from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to uncover what tech companies are supplying components.

In his Next Inning -- a newsletter that focuses solely on high tech stocks -- the advisors offers a look at the players inside the iPhone.

McWilliams explains, "A few interesting notes have come from the folks busily tearing down the new Apple iPhone 3G S since its launch.