SanDisk shares fall on analyst downgrade

Shares of SanDisk Corp., a maker of flash memory cards used in cameras and other devices, fell Thursday after an analyst downgraded the stock on signs of weakening in the flash memory market.

Needham analyst Y. Edwin Mok downgraded SanDisk to "under perform" from "hold" after pipeline checks saw early evidence of rising NAND flash memory inventories.

Weakening demand since May from retailers and manufacturers could lead to lower prices, he wrote in a research report. He also sees an oversupply of NAND flash memory coming given expected production increases in coming months from Samsung and Toshiba.

The analyst sees SanDisk beating analysts' financial projections for the second quarter, given the company's conservative outlook. But accelerating price declines could hurt the third quarter.

Lower prices will pressure SanDisk shares. Mok recommends that investors sell the stock.

Shares of Milpitas, Calif.-based SanDisk were down 95 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $14.11 in afternoon trading.