Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore has elevated Western Digital's stock to his No. 1 chip sector recommendation, bumping Nvidia down to No. 2. Moore sees an "extremely compelling" valuation gap for Western Digital shares compared to peers. He's upbeat about an upcoming separation of Western Digital's memory and hard drive businesses. NAND memory price trends are improving, with prices up over 20% sequentially in Q1 so far. Moore upped his WDC price target to $73 from $52, representing 27% upside.
