Western Digital (WDC) shares surged 5.19% over the past 24 hours, powered by a robust intraday rally and continued post-market momentum. The stock was among the top performers in the storage sector, riding a wave of bullish sentiment that swept through chip stocks on Thursday.

The sharp advance was primarily driven by the company's guidance that first-quarter profit and revenue will exceed market expectations, significantly boosting investor confidence ahead of its upcoming earnings release. The upbeat outlook was reinforced by peer Seagate Technology's strong quarterly results, which ignited a broader storage sector rebound. Additionally, Wedbush raised its price target on Western Digital from $540 to $650 while maintaining an Outperform rating, providing further valuation support and attracting capital inflows.

The broader memory chip sector also got a lift from Samsung's robust second-quarter results and a bullish call on SK Hynix, as well as renewed optimism about AI spending sustainability following Microsoft's earnings report. These catalysts helped memory stocks recover from a recent sharp selloff, with Western Digital benefiting from both company-specific positive news and the sector-wide bounce.