Seagate Technology Analyst Turns Bearish After Q1 Earnings Call: Market Conditions Have Deteriorated 'More Rapidly Than We Expected'

Shares of Seagate Technology Holdings PLC STX declined in early trading on Friday, after the company reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings.

Earnings commentary suggested the hard disk drive (HDD) market recovery was delayed by more than two quarters and there was limited visibility into the extent of recovery, according to Morgan Stanley.

The Seagate Technology Analyst: Erik Woodring downgraded the rating for Seagate Technology from Overweight to Equal-Weight, while reducing the price target from $72 to $60.

The Seagate Technology Thesis: The conditions in the company’s market have deteriorated over the past six weeks, creating a “more difficult setup for the stock to outperform in the next few quarters,” Woodring said in the downgrade note.

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Market conditions, including demand and pricing, have deteriorated “more rapidly than we expected,” he added.

“STX now expects revenue to decline sequentially through at least the September quarter,” the analyst wrote. “STX is responding with additional restructuring actions to cut production further and right-size its cost base, but it's difficult, in our view, to gain full confidence in an end-of-year recovery today given the limited visibility mgmt has themselves, plus more cautious commentary on overall IT spending trends from others in our hardware coverage this week,” he further stated.

STX Price Action: Shares of Seagate Technology declined by 2.08% to $55.89 at the time of publication Friday.

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