After it was reported that Toshiba (TOSBF) could sell its NAND business to a Bain-led consortium, Cowen analyst Karl Ackerman says that in a "base case, status quo" scenario, in which Western Digital (WDC) retains "ownership in Flash Ventures and access to NAND IP and manufacturing," the stock's value is $117 per share. Meanwhile, "in an uber bear case," which includes Toshiba successfully selling its memory business to a third party, Western Digital's stock would be worth $60 per share, the analyst stated. Finally, if Western Digital acquire more than 20% of the memory business, adding up to $1.50 to its annual EPS, the stock could "approach" roughly $135, according to the analyst. Given these scenarios and Ackerman's belief that Western Digital's current stock price implies that its NAND business is worth $45 per share of 50% of what it paid for the business, he thinks that the stock's risk/reward ratio is attractive. He keeps a $117 price target and an Outperform rating on the shares.

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.