New York, Jan 27, 2026, 12:42 ET — Regular session
- Seagate shares climb about 6% in midday trade after Mizuho lifts its price target
- Investors position ahead of Seagate’s fiscal Q2 results due after the close
- Rival Western Digital also gains as storage names move together
Seagate Technology Holdings Plc shares rose 5.7% to $378.59 in midday trading on Tuesday after Mizuho raised its price target ahead of the data-storage maker’s quarterly results due after the bell. The stock hit a session high of $383.54.
The move matters because Seagate’s report lands in a heavy earnings week, and investors have been using storage makers as a proxy for how fast cloud firms are expanding data centers for artificial intelligence work. Nearline drives — high-capacity hard disk drives used in data centers — sit at the center of that trade.
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh lifted his price target on Seagate to $400 from $370 and reiterated an “Outperform” rating, pointing to “pricing tailwinds” as AI server demand accelerates, according to a report on the change. TipRanks
Western Digital, Seagate’s closest listed rival in hard disk drives, rose 5.5% to $253.98. NetApp, which sells storage systems, was up 0.9%.
Seagate is scheduled to release fiscal second-quarter results after U.S. markets close on Tuesday, and it plans a conference call at 5:00 p.m. ET, the company has said.
In its last quarterly report, Seagate forecast second-quarter revenue of $2.70 billion, plus or minus $100 million, and non-GAAP earnings of $2.75 per share, plus or minus 20 cents. Non-GAAP results strip out certain items such as share-based compensation.
Analysts have drifted a bit above that midpoint into Tuesday’s report. Investors Business Daily said Wall Street is looking for adjusted earnings of $2.83 per share on revenue of $2.74 billion.
For traders, the pressure points in the release are simple: pricing and mix in Seagate’s data-center drives, gross margin, and any comments on supply and customer demand heading into the March quarter. Guidance often moves the stock more than the quarter that just ended.
Options markets are braced for a sharp move. Derivatives pricing implies an average post-earnings swing of about 7%, a gauge based on what traders are paying for protection rather than a directional forecast.
The risk is that expectations are now tight. With Seagate shares pushing to fresh highs into the print, a result that merely lands inside the company’s range — or a cautious tone on pricing — could trigger fast profit-taking.
The next catalyst is close at hand: Seagate reports after the bell, then takes questions from investors at 5:00 p.m. ET.
