Seagate, Western Digital Shares Rally as Brean Analyst Sees Potential for Gross Margin Improvement in March Qtr.

Shares of Seagate STX and Western Digital WDC are up about 4 percent Tuesday morning following some bullish comments from Brean Capital's Ananda Baruah. Baruah said recent checks are working in favor of his long thesis. The analyst said average selling prices are currently as expected, product mix is a little better and the HDD landscape is remaining stable. Baruah believes there could be a possibility for gross margin upside for both Seagate and Western Digital in the upcoming March quarter. Western Digital may end up benefiting more from a strong product mix as he feels the company "overachieved" on its 500GB notebook shipment goals for the quarter. Baruah maintains Buy ratings on Seagate and Western Digital. The analyst currently has a $39 price target on Seagate and a $54 target on shares of Western Digital.