The stock had gained 24 percent in the past year before Thursday. Western Digital profit better than expected Hard disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by good demand for notebook personal computers, as well as digital set-top boxes that record TV shows, sending shares 4 percent higher. The Lake Forest company said net income for its second fiscal quarter ended in December rose to $104.3 million, or 47 cents per share, from $56 million, or 26 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 17 percent to $1.12 billion from $954.9 million. Western Digital's results come after far larger rival Seagate Technology said last week that its own quarterly profit nearly doubled, fueled by the same demand that Western Digital and other hard disk drive makers are seeing. Western Digital shares rose 85 cents, or 4 percent, to close at $21.47.