OCZ Technology Leads Data Storage Rally (OCZ, WDC, STX, EMC, NTAP, SNDK)

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DATA STORAGE INVESTING IDEAS

• Popular long ideas: EMC, SNDK, STX
• Popular short ideas: SNDK, WDC, STEC
• Top dividend plays: STX, XRTX, WDC
• Pro favorites: EMC, STX, WDC

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DATA STORAGE COVERAGE

Billions of gigabytes of data are saved using the hard drives and storage solutions provided by these firms

• Analysts Hammer STEC Following Weak Guidance (STEC, OCZ, FIO, EMC, NTAP, STX, WDC)
• SanDisk, Western Digital Lift Data Storage Stocks (SNDK, WDC, STX, EMC, STEC, NTAP, OCZ)
• Seagate Slammed By Margin Concerns, Rare Earths Prices (STX, WDC, OCZ, EMC, NTAP, SNDK, STEC, MCP)

DATA STORAGE CHART

DATA STORAGE METRICS

Avg. Market Cap:	$6.7B
Avg. P/E Ratio:	18.8
Avg. Div Yield:	0.5%

Shares of OCZ Technology Group (OCZ), the computer memory and data storage hardware maker, are surging 12% after the California-based company reported a surprise fiscal first-quarter adjusted profit of a penny share on revenue of $73.8 million. Analysts were expecting an adjusted loss of a penny a share on revenue of $69.4 million. The company also forecast fiscal 2012 revenue of $310-$345 million, topping the consensus estimate of $310 million.

The news from OCZ Technology is putting a charge into the Data Storage Stocks Index, which is higher by 2.8%. Needham & Co. said OCZ Technology continues to defy its naysayers and the research firm raised its fiscal 2012 revenue estimate for the company to $333 million from $330 million.

Shares of Western Digital (WDC) are soaring 2% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “neutral” while boosting its price target on the maker of hard drives to $50 from $42.50, implying substantial upside from where the shares currently trade. The bank also upgraded Western Digital’s rival, Seagate Technology (STX). That stock is up 3% on the upgrade and JPMorgan’s price target increase to $23 from $16, which is also well above where the stock currently trades.

EMC (EMC) and NetApp (NTAP) are both fractionally higher while SanDisk (SNDK) is up 2%.

Investors can track the Data Storage Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.

Tags: EMC, NTAP, OCZ, SNDK, STX, WDC