Preview: Western Digital's First Analyst Day In 4 Years

Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC) is scheduled to hold its first analyst day in four years on December 6.

BTIG’s Edward Parker reiterated a Buy rating on the company, with a price target of $66.

What To Expect On Analyst Day

“Besides providing an update on the long-term model and progress of cost synergies with the SanDisk Corporation (previously traded (NASDAQ: SNDK)) acquisition, we believe this event will be particularly important in addressing many controversial issues surrounding the investment case for the stock,” Parker mentioned.

The analyst expects the debate regarding the sustainability of robust near-term trends to continue, particularly as the 3D transition approaches, although Western Digital would have a chance to explain how this could be managed at the analyst day.

“We expect WD to focus on big picture themes, including the growth in data-intensive applications, driving sustainable demand for storage technologies up and down the stack,” Parker went on to say.

Focus On Cost Synergies

Management is also likely to discuss cost synergies associated with the HGST integration as well as the SanDisk acquisition, with a focus on robust free cash flow generation.

Following Western Digital having updated its guidance mid-quarter for the last two quarters, Parker believes management might provide an update regarding the December quarter guidance, given the solid demand fundamentals in HDD and NAND.

At last check in Thursday's pre-market, Western Digital shares were up 1.89 percent at $64.86.

Image Credit: By Solomon203 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons