Western Digital shares surge 8.43% after hours on buy ratings and AI HDD roadmap.

Western Digital (WDC) surged 8.43% in after-hours trading, driven by a Buy rating upgrade from Evercore ISI’s Amit Daryanani, who reiterated a $310 price target (a 15% upside from the $269.41 close), and Citi’s Asiya Merchant also issuing a Buy recommendation. Additionally, the company outlined an HDD roadmap at its Innovation Day, targeting 100TB drives for AI data centers, signaling long-term growth potential in a high-demand sector. These developments, combined with analyst credibility (Daryanani’s 20.6% average return), outweighed mixed signals such as insider selling and Goldman Sachs’ Hold rating. The stock’s sharp rebound aligned with renewed investor confidence in WDC’s strategic positioning for AI-driven storage demand and analyst endorsements.