Western Digital shares inch lower after downgrade

Shares of Western Digital Corp. and Seagate Technology retreated Thursday amid worries over demand for their hard disk drives.

Craig-Hallum Capital analyst Christian Schwab downgraded Western Digital to "Accumulate" from "Buy," and cut his target price to $40 from $54.

The analyst said he thinks Western Digital will be susceptible to above average trading volatility in the short term.

And he said there must be clear signs that businesses are again replacing outdated PCs for profits to improve at the two companies.

Shares of Lake Forest, Calif.-based Western Digital fell 78 cents, or 2 percent, to $37.29 in early afternoon trading.

Shares of rival Seagate Technology fell 61 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $18.56.

Ananda Baruah, an analyst with Brean Murray, meanwhile, recommended that investors buy both shares on weakness, saying that concerns over the hard disk drive market are overblown.