Western Digital shares surged 5.03% in pre-market trading on Friday, extending a powerful multi-day rebound as the storage giant rode a wave of bullish sentiment sweeping across the memory chip sector.
The rally was fueled by the company's own upbeat outlook, guiding first-quarter profit and revenue above market expectations. This positive forecast was reinforced by peer Seagate Technology's strong quarterly results, which ignited a broader storage sector rally. Additionally, investment bank Wedbush raised its price target on Western Digital from $540 to $650, maintaining an Outperform rating and providing valuation support for continued capital inflows.
The broader memory chip space also received a lift from renewed optimism around AI infrastructure spending, following robust capex plans from tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, and Samsung's forecast of persistent memory shortages. These catalysts helped memory stocks recover from a recent selloff, with Western Digital among the top beneficiaries.