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Investing.com -- Mizuho raised its price targets on key storage and memory stocks, Seagate, Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC), and SanDisk, in a note Thursday, citing accelerating demand driven by AI infrastructure.
“We are raising STX PT to $155 from $130,” analysts wrote, “with HAMR ramps continuing to drive better ASPs and GMs as demand looks strong into 2026E with higher capacity drives.”
Western Digital’s price target was increased to $75 from $61 as its “UltraSMR ramping well ahead of HAMR in 2HC26E” supports top-line strength.
SanDisk saw its target raised to $57 from $50 on improving NAND pricing and healthier inventories.
“We see NAND prices starting to rebound in 2Q25 with better supply/demand dynamics at key PC/handset customers, as AI drives LT tailwinds,” said Mizuho (NYSE:MFG).
The firm said Seagate continues to benefit from “strong HAMR leadership/ramp,” adding that large language models, including GPT-5, are increasing AI server demand.
“We see HDD tailwinds from AI Servers as key CSPs ramp,” they wrote.
Furthermore, the firm estimates HDD average selling prices will rise 5-7% in the second half of 2025, with 30TB+ drive mix expanding.
In NAND, AI inference workloads are creating throughput demand that’s boosting QLC eSSD demand.
Mizuho stated: “We believe AI at the edge driving increased demand for AI PC/handset NAND as it could drive 2x NAND content over the LT.”
The DRAM high-bandwidth memory (HBM) segment also remains a focus. “We see the HBM market strong, growing from ~$21B in 2024 at a 55% 2024–27E CAGR to ~$76B,” Mizuho wrote.