Citi ups Western Digital target, opens ‘upside short-term view’

Citi raised the firm’s price target on Western Digital (WDC) to $62 from $56 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm also added an “upside 90-day short-term view” on Western Digital following a meeting with Seagate (STX) management. Seagate indicated continued solid data center storage demand, steady pricing, and continued limited production on high utilization, which are supportive of pricing and margins for the overall hard disk drive industry, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi also believes strong industry data growth fundamentals coupled with recent Seagate commentary that HAMR production volumes remain constrained and the company is not chasing share, should help “ameliorate investor concerns.”