Why Western Digital is a ‘Key Name’ in IT Hardware for Morgan Stanley

Western Digital (WDC) is poised to benefit from growing demand for AI-driven data storage, said analysts at Morgan Stanley.

The bank raised its price target to $78 from $70, while maintaining an overweight rating in a note to clients on Tuesday. Shares of Western Digital rose about 1% in recent afternoon trading; Morgan Stanley’s target comes in at a roughly 34% premium to Monday’s close. The data storage provider’s stock is up nearly 30% so far in 2025.

Western Digital “benefits from accelerating data growth, which drives storage demand,” the analysts said. Such demand currently outstrips supply, which puts upward pressure on the price of hard drives such as those made by the company, they added.

“WDC is a key name where we’d be putting incremental capital to work within our IT Hardware universe,” Morgan Stanley said. The bank’s new $78 target is the most bullish on Wall Street when compared to the consensus near $59 supplied by Visible Alpha.