Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Seagate (STX) initiated with a Buy at BTIG by analyst Edward Parker, who believes the company is a lower risk way to play the cloud trend and said it offers solutions that are specifically designed to accommodate cloud workloads at scale and at levels of efficiency greater than anything on the market today. 2. Western Digital (WDC) initiated with a Buy at BTIG with analyst Edward Parker saying he believes the acquisition of Sandisk (SNDK) provides long-term strategic benefits of having captive flash. He also said that the market underappreciates Sandisk's cost leadership. Parker said the acquisition has high integration risks, but the market is discounting and the upside potential is attractive. 3. Flex (FLEX) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan by analyst Paul Coster, who said the stock should move higher as the company's Sketch-to-Scale strategy yields margin improvement and a return to growth. 4. Medidata (MDSO) initiated with a Market Perform at Leerink with analyst Steven Wardell viewing the stock as fairly valued following the 40% rally. 5. Scripps Networks (SNI) coverage assumed with a Neutral at Macquarie. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

BofA raised the firm's price target on Western Digital to $85 from $75 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm sees both the HDD and NAND businesses being close to the bottom of the cycle and sees a potential unlock of shareholder value as the company remains on track to split the HDD and NAND business in the second half of 2024.