(Reuters) - Needham & Co downgraded Seagate Technology Plc two notches to "hold," citing slower demand for its hard drives and storage devices and rising inventory levels in the industry.

Analysts at the brokerage see demand slowing across every major category including notebooks, desktops and servers.

The brokerage also cut its price target on the stock of Western Digital Corp , another hard-disk drive (HDD) maker, to $53.00 from $61.00 on similar concerns.

It, however, maintained a "strong buy" on Western Digital.

Shares of Seagate fell 3 percent to $31.50 while those of Western Digital were down slightly at $41.50 in trading before the bell on Thursday.

(Reporting by Shubham Singhal in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)