Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) is 16.5% higher to trade at $260, after the computer hardware company reported adjusted fiscal first-quarter earnings of $2.61 on $2.63 billion in revenue, both of which topped analyst estimates. The company also hiked its Q2 forecast, citing a profitable cycle and tight supply chain. Seven analysts have hiked their price targets in response, including Mizuho and Wedbush to $290.
The report has sector peers Western Digital (WDC) and SanDisk (SNDK) both confidently higher as well.
STX has had a stellar year on the charts, up 158% in 2025 and now a chip shot from its Oct. 2 record high of $264.83. A recent pullback from that peak found support at the shares' 40-day moving average.
Short sellers are hitting the exits, with short interest down 7.5% in the past two reporting periods. However, the 16.70 million shares sold short still accounts for nearly 8% of the stock's total available float. At the stock's average pace of trading, it would take shorts more than four days to buy back their bearish bets.
Options traders are loading up on calls, with the 19,000 contracts traded in just the first two hours of trading, volume that's six times the average intraday amount. The weekly 10/31 230-strike call is the most popular. The good news for prospective buyers is STX tends to outperform options traders' volatility expectations. This is per its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 98 (out of 100)
