Western Digital (WDC) Stock Hits 52-Week High After JPMorgan Raises Target to $650

TLDR

• WDC hit a new 52-week high of $655, closing at $628.74 after JPMorgan raised its price target to $650
• Morgan Stanley also reiterated an Overweight rating, lifting its target to $650 and calling WDC one of its “most-favored Overweights”
• Western Digital surged ~15% on Monday, making it the top performer in the S&P 500
• Q3 earnings beat estimates: EPS of $2.72 vs $2.39 expected; revenue up 45.5% year over year to $3.34 billion
• HDD supply is projected to be 10–15% short of demand in 2026, with AI driving 40–50% annual demand growth

Western Digital (WDC) stock hit a new 52-week high on Monday, surging nearly 15% to $645.33 intraday and trading as high as $655, making it the top performer in the S&P 500. The stock had previously closed at $562.92.

Western Digital Corporation, WDC

The move came after JPMorgan Chase raised its price target on WDC from $530 to $650, maintaining an Overweight rating. Morgan Stanley followed with its own note, bumping its target from $488 to $650 and reiterating Overweight.

Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring called Western Digital and Seagate his “most-favored Overweights,” pointing to a hard disk drive market where supply can’t keep up with demand.

The stock is now up more than 1,000% over the past year.

Supply Can’t Keep Up

Morgan Stanley projects HDD supply will fall 10% to 15% short of demand in 2026. AI is the main driver, pushing HDD demand growth to around 40% to 50% annually, while supply growth is only tracking at 30% to 35%.

That gap is showing up in pricing. Western Digital and Seagate currently price their drives at roughly $14.30 to $14.90 per terabyte. Both companies are targeting $25 to $30 per terabyte by 2027 and 2028.

J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee noted last Friday that Seagate has stopped offering discounts to push customers toward next-gen products. With supply tight, there’s simply no need.

Western Digital’s CFO Kris Sennesael told Barron’s earlier this year that the industry is no longer as cyclical as it once was, with customers now locking in supply years in advance.

Strong Earnings Back the Bull Case

Western Digital’s most recent quarterly results gave analysts more reason to be positive. The company reported EPS of $2.72, beating the $2.39 consensus estimate by $0.33.

Revenue came in at $3.34 billion, topping the $3.25 billion estimate and up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Net margin was 55.29% and return on equity hit 42.95%.

Western Digital also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.13, payable June 17th.

For Q4 2026, the company guided EPS in the range of $3.10 to $3.40. Full-year analyst estimates sit at $9.60 EPS.

Analyst Sentiment Broadly Bullish

Beyond JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, several other firms have raised targets in recent weeks. Bank of America set a $495 target with a Buy rating. Wells Fargo moved its target from $500 to $575 with an Overweight rating. Rosenblatt went from $340 to $500, also at Buy. Zacks upgraded the stock to Strong Buy in early May.

The MarketBeat consensus sits at “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $450.46 — well below where the stock is now trading.

Morgan Stanley’s bull case puts Western Digital at $920 and Seagate at $1,446 if demand and pricing outperform expectations.

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