Storage Stocks Tumble, But WDC Surges 4%: New AI Play Catches Up?
While Micron fell 6.18% and SanDisk dropped 5.52% in a broad storage selloff, Western Digital surged 4.22% as markets recast it as 'the new AI play.' The thesis: demand for high-capacity nearline storage — HDD and nearline drives — in AI data centers is being underpriced, positioning WDC's HDD business as a direct beneficiary of AI infrastructure expansion. As flash memory names like MU and SNDK pull back on crowded trades, capital is rotating to the overlooked HDD leader. Is WDC's 'AI storage' narrative a genuine value rerating after being ignored, or just the latest momentum trade?