Western Digital Stock Rebounds as Wall Street Bets AI Storage Demand Outlasts Election Rout

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC) stock rose about 3% Friday after jumping more than 8% in premarket trading, as investors weighed whether a 17% selloff Thursday over AI infrastructure spending and tighter data-center restrictions had gone too far.

The S&P 500 edged higher in early trading Friday, offering a modestly firmer backdrop after a sharp post-election technology rout.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 6.4% and the S&P 500 dropped 4.4% on Thursday, as the broader technology rout wiped about $3.2 trillion in market value from U.S. equities in a single session.

Western Digital Joins Memory-Led Rebound

Western Digital fell 17% during Thursday’s selloff, matching the decline in Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), while NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) dropped 9.3%.

The declines came as investors reduced exposure to AI-linked semiconductor and memory names while reassessing the pace of future data-center construction.

Western Digital’s Friday rebound follows that steep pullback, with traders weighing whether the sector’s recent losses already reflect much of the near-term risk around AI infrastructure spending.

AI Infrastructure Outlook Remains in Focus

While investors weigh whether slower data-center development will materially weaken demand, strategists largely see it pushing AI spending into later periods rather than ending the cycle.

Raymond James CIO Larry Adam said the AI investment cycle remains intact and continues to see opportunities in semiconductor infrastructure and hyperscalers.

Adam believes slower data-center spending could improve hyperscaler cash flow and increase the value of existing capacity.

Ives Expects a Longer Spending Cycle

Yorkville Ives analyst Dan Ives expects AI spending to continue, although over a longer timeline.

The analyst now assumes roughly 10% fewer data centers in the baseline case and expects Big Tech capital-spending growth to peak in 2027, earlier than the analyst’s prior 2028-29 expectation.

Ives still views the AI infrastructure cycle as continuing rather than ending, even as the analyst has become more cautious on semiconductor stocks.

Analysts Remain Constructive

Western Digital carries a Buy consensus rating with an average price forecast of $589.14, based on 28 analysts.

Recent actions include Argus Research maintaining Buy while lowering its target to $500 on Oct. 26, UBS maintaining Neutral while cutting its target to $435 on Oct. 23, and Citigroup maintaining Buy while lowering its target to $660 on Oct. 23.

ETF Exposure

Western Digital carries a 4.86% weighting in the Alger 35 ETF (NYSE:ATFV), 3.15% in the Fidelity Cloud Computing ETF (NASDAQ:FCLD) and 2.72% in the Invesco S&P 500 Concentrated QVM ETF (NYSE:QVMT).

Those weightings leave the stock sensitive to broader ETF flows alongside company-specific developments and shifts in semiconductor and AI infrastructure sentiment.

Price Action

WDC Stock Price Activity: Western Digital shares were up 2.92% at $275.45 at the time of publication Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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