WDC
AI storage: the market’s new favorite snack
Western Digital is having one of those days where the tape looks like it had three espressos. Shares rose about 5% after Morgan Stanley’s Erik Woodring kept an Overweight rating in place and bumped his price target to $650 from $488.
What changed?
The upgrade isn’t just vibes and spreadsheet glitter. Woodring pointed to:
- More than 30% year-over-year growth in nearline enterprise demand
- Faster pricing gains
- Margin expansion
- Better operating leverage
Translation: the memory cycle is looking less like a sleepy warehouse and more like an AI-powered jackpot.
The catch: this thing is sprinting
Western Digital is already trading way above its short- and long-term averages, with momentum indicators flashing “hot.” In plain English, bulls are in charge, but the stock may be a little too excited for its own good.
That makes the next earnings report on July 29th a big one. Analysts are looking for $3.69 billion in revenue and $3.27 in EPS, which would be a serious leap from last year. Big picture: if AI storage demand keeps humming, WDC could stay in rerating mode — but after this kind of run, even great news might need to be great-great news.