Valued at a market cap of $35.7 billion, Western Digital Corporation (WDC) develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions based on hard disk drive (HDD) technology. The San Jose, California-based company offers internal HDDs, data center drives, data center platforms, external drives, portable drives, and NAS for home and office. 

Companies valued at $10 billion or more are typically classified as “large-cap stocks,” and WDC fits the label perfectly, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the computer hardware industry. The company’s strength lies in its position as a global leader in data storage solutions, with a robust portfolio that spans hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and NAND flash memory. Its specialty is in delivering high-capacity, high-performance, and reliable storage technologies that cater to diverse markets. 

This data storage device manufacturer touched its 52-week high of $103.98 in the last trading session. Moreover, shares of WDC have rallied 79.6% over the past three months, significantly outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s ($DOWI) 7.6% return during the same time frame.

In the longer term, WDC has skyrocketed 114.5% over the past 52 weeks, notably outpacing DOWI's 9.9% uptick over the same time period. Moreover, on a YTD basis, shares of WDC are up 130.5%, compared to DOWI’s 7.6% rise.

To confirm its bullish trend, WDC has been trading above its 200-day moving average since mid-May, and has remained above its 50-day moving average since late April. 

On Jul. 30, WDC impressed investors with a strong Q4 earnings beat and standout growth, with its shares soaring 10.2% in the following trading session. Driven by robust growth in its cloud end market, the company’s overall revenue advanced 30% year-over-year to $2.6 billion, exceeding analyst estimates by 6.5%. Moreover, its profitability also looked impressive, with adjusted gross margin expanding by 610 basis points and adjusted operating income soaring 147.3% from the prior-year quarter to $732 million. Additionally, its adjusted EPS of $1.66 handily exceeded the consensus estimates of $1.48. 

WDC has outpaced its rival, Seagate Technology Holdings plc’s (STX) 108.1% return over the past 52 weeks. However, it has lagged behind STX’s 144.6% surge on a YTD basis. 

Looking at WDC’s recent outperformance, analysts remain highly optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy” from the 24 analysts covering it. While the company is trading above its mean price target of $92.48, its Street-high price target of $123 suggests a 19.3% premium to its current price levels.