Seagate stock rises 4% ahead of earnings as AI storage demand grows
Seagate Technology shares STX rose more than 4% on Tuesday as investors awaited the hard-drive maker’s fiscal first-quarter 2027 earnings report, looking for updates on data-centre storage demand, pricing and its outlook for the coming quarters.
Seagate is scheduled to release its results after Tuesday’s market close.
The report comes as the company navigates a pullback from its recent highs despite benefiting from rising demand for data storage driven by artificial intelligence.
Seagate shares remain up nearly 200% over the past year at $675.18, but have fallen about 40% from their record closing high on June 22, 2026.
Analysts adjust Seagate stock price targets
Ahead of the results, Rosenblatt lowered its price target on Seagate to $1,100 from $1,400 while maintaining a Buy rating.
Analyst Kevin Cassidy attributed the reduction to sector-wide valuation multiple compression.
Rosenblatt favours Western Digital as a relative catch-up opportunity, but sees greater near-term earnings-per-share upside at Seagate as its heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology scales.
HAMR allows the company to increase the amount of data stored on hard drives, supporting efforts to meet growing cloud storage demand.
Morgan Stanley raised its Seagate price target to $1,200 from $1,187 last week, maintained an Overweight rating and reinstated the stock on its Top Picks list.
The firm cited improving hard-disk-drive fundamentals and a broadening customer base.
Bank of America also raised its price target to $1,200 from $1,150 and reiterated a Buy rating.
Analyst Wamsi Mohan expects Seagate to increase pricing as its build-to-order contracts for nearline hard drives come up for renewal.
BofA expects prices and margins to continue expanding well into 2028, potentially supporting a recovery in the stock.
According to FactSet, 83% of analysts covering Seagate rate it the equivalent of a Buy, while the average price target remains above $1,100.
Seagate earnings expected to nearly triple
Analysts expect Seagate’s fiscal first-quarter revenue to rise approximately 58% year over year to $4.15 billion, according to Koyfin.
Adjusted earnings per share are projected to increase 185% to $7.43, compared with $2.61 a year earlier.
The forecasts are broadly in line with the company’s July guidance, which called for revenue of $4.1 billion, plus or minus $100 million, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $7.30, plus or minus $0.20.
In the previous quarter, Seagate reported revenue of $3.63 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $5.71, supported by strong demand from cloud data centres.
The upcoming report will give investors an update on whether the company is meeting its forecasts as demand for high-capacity storage grows alongside AI applications.
AI demand supports growth, but supply risks remain
Seagate and Western Digital are the only US hard-disk-drive sellers and have benefited from tight supply by securing long-term customer contracts at high margins.
AI applications generate and process large volumes of data, increasing demand for storage infrastructure.
However, the industry remains sensitive to changes in demand and supply. Western Digital recently beat earnings expectations, but its shares fell later due to concerns about rising capital expenditure and the potential for additional hard-drive supply. Seagate shares also came under pressure.
Earlier this month, Seagate stock dropped following a report that Japan’s Toshiba planned to increase production capacity, highlighting investor concerns about a possible easing of supply constraints.
Seagate CEO Dave Mosley previously said the company expected continued growth in demand for high-capacity storage as AI applications generate increasing volumes of data.