Benzinga | Oct 23, 2020 12:14PM EDT

Benchmark Bullish On Seagate's Potential Cloud Demand, Enterprise Improvements

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) reported upbeat first-quarter earnings Thursday, and the company's December quarter guidance came in higher than expected.

The company is likely to witness strong cloud demand into next year, and improved demand in its enterprise segment could carry into 2021, according to Benchmark.

The Seagate Technology Analyst: Mark Miller upgraded Seagate Technology from Hold to Buy with an unchanged $60 price target.

The Seagate Technology Thesis: While consumer drive demand could be stable in the December quarter, cloud data center demand is likely to remain strong into 2021, Miller said in a Friday upgrade note.

"There are indications enterprise demand has bottomed and gradual improvements are expected into 2021, which should also aid margins. Further improvements in margins are expected in 2021, as COVID-related costs wane and factory utilization improves," the analyst said.

"Seagate also increased its quarterly dividend by two cents to $0.67 and increased its share repurchase authorization by $3 billion to $4.2 billion."

Miller said he expects Seagate Technology's non-GAAP earnings to grow 19% to $5.36 per diluted share in fiscal 2022.

STX Price Action: Shares of Seagate Technology were down 2.07% at $50.72 at last check Friday.