New York, Jan 27, 2026, 19:54 EST — After-hours
- Shares of Western Digital climbed 4.9% to $252.66 in late trading
- Traders cited Seagate’s earnings and guidance as a key factor, along with new activity from recently launched leveraged ETFs
- Western Digital will release its earnings Thursday after the market closes
Shares of Western Digital rose in late trading Tuesday, pushing higher after recent gains in data-storage stocks. Investors are betting on the “AI data center” hardware theme ahead of the company’s earnings report due later this week.
This matters now with Western Digital set to report quarterly results on Thursday, and nerves are already on edge following Seagate’s recent earnings and outlook. Traders are scrambling to figure out if pricing and demand will hold steady into early 2026 or if this rally is running too far ahead.
Western Digital climbed 4.9% to $252.66. Shares swung from $243.99 to $269.00 on volume nearing 7.5 million, per trade data.
Seagate, a key competitor to Western Digital in the hard disk drive sector, has projected quarterly revenue and profits that surpass Wall Street’s forecasts. The company attributes this to rising data-center investments driven by artificial intelligence. “Modern data centers increasingly need storage solutions that combine performance and cost-efficiency at exabyte-scale,” said Seagate CEO Dave Mosley. 1
Analyst activity remained prominent. Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Western Digital to $300 from $250 and reaffirmed an “Overweight” rating, according to Stock Story. 2
Setting fundamentals aside, traders spotlighted a fresh batch of single-stock leveraged ETFs, a niche often attracting short-term cash. Tradr ETFs rolled out a new product linked to Western Digital, targeting twice the stock’s daily movement. Matt Markiewicz, Tradr’s head of product, noted both Sandisk and Western Digital have experienced “massive positive momentum since last summer.” 3
Cboe’s new-issue notice confirmed that the Tradr 2X Long WDC Daily ETF (WDCX) kicked off trading Tuesday, joining similar ETFs linked to Lumentum and Sandisk. 4
But risks remain. Leveraged ETFs reset every day, so over longer stretches their returns can stray from that “two times” target, especially when the underlying asset moves sharply. With Western Digital’s stock climbing sharply, a misstep in Thursday’s outlook could send the price tumbling quickly.
Investors are eyeing Thursday’s report for clues on demand from cloud and enterprise customers, as well as pricing trends and margins. Western Digital plans to announce its results after the market closes on Jan. 29, followed by a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET. 5
The key trigger will be that call — it’s not only about the headline figures, but also what management reveals on orders and pricing heading into the March quarter.
