New York, January 16, 2026, 14:42 EST — Regular session
Shares of Seagate Technology Holdings plc climbed 1.6% to $325.55 on Friday after Susquehanna bumped its rating to Neutral from Negative. The stock fluctuated between $321 and $335, with roughly 2.4 million shares changing hands—below the 30-day average of about 3.4 million. Susquehanna’s Mehdi Hosseini praised Seagate’s “near-flawless” execution of its heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) rollout — a technique that uses heat to pack data more densely on disks — and raised his price target sharply to $280 from $150. 1
The shift came as chip-related stocks steadied Wall Street following a turbulent week, with investors refocusing on the “AI buildout” story. U.S. markets will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, narrowing the timeframe for adjustments ahead of next week’s earnings. 2
Seagate stands out as a clearer indicator of whether data-center budgets are flowing into traditional infrastructure, beyond just servers and chips. Barron’s noted the stock jumped roughly 219% in 2025, highlighting Susquehanna’s recent shift as a sign the last major skeptic on the stock has flipped. 3
Other desks are also increasing their numbers, though the tone remains cautious. Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley bumped his price target from $240 to $370 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating. He pointed to the stock’s closeness to the AI trend as a key factor that should help it outperform peers in 2026. 4
Wells Fargo raised its Seagate price target sharply, from $250 to $360, while keeping an Equal Weight rating. The move came after a fresh look at semiconductor industry models and trends for the coming year. 5
Investors are now asking if the tight hard-disk drive cycle will hold up as cloud clients move larger data sets through their platforms. Seagate’s key market includes data centers and enterprise equipment, which can shift quickly if several major buyers halt orders.
But there’s a catch. After a hot streak, even a small slip in margins, a slower tech shift, or just normal digestion by hyperscale clients could weigh on a stock now trading like an AI proxy.
Seagate will host its fiscal second-quarter conference call on January 27 at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET). 6
Investors will zero in on that call for clear signs—shipment trends in high-capacity drives, pricing strategies, and how well the company is ramping up new recording technology at scale. The guidance will carry more weight than the quarter already behind them.
For now, the stock faces a straightforward challenge: can Friday’s upgrade-driven rally stick when U.S. markets reopen Tuesday, as earnings season stirs up volatility?
