Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) shares traded up 8.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $536.12 and last traded at $524.65. 7,502,975 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 9,031,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $484.28.
Trending Headlines about Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is benefiting from a sector-wide surge in memory and storage stocks after UBS delivered a notably bullish call on Micron, prompting investors to reprice AI-linked storage names higher. Not Just Micron: Memory Melt-Up Pulls SanDisk Up 8%, Western Digital Up 10%
- Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage has highlighted Western Digital as one of the best-performing data center stocks in 2026, helped by its role in AI infrastructure and a recent announcement integrating post-quantum cryptography into its Ultrastar UltraSMR drives. Is Western Digital (WDC) the Best Performing Data Center Stocks So Far in 2026?
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and brokerage commentary continues to support a constructive long-term view on Western Digital, though the coverage is largely opinion-based and not a direct new business catalyst. Brokers Suggest Investing in Western Digital (WDC): Read This Before Placing a Bet
- Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling was reported recently, but the dollar amount was relatively small and does not appear to be driving today’s trading. Insider Selling: Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells $48,640.22 in Stock
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $310.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Argus set a $300.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Western Digital from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Western Digital from $335.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $406.42.
Western Digital Stock Performance
The company has a market cap of $180.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32 and a beta of 2.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $377.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.52.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 2.99%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital
In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total value of $2,071,470.06. Following the sale, the insider owned 90,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,905,270.79. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total value of $8,236,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares in the company, valued at $246,342,096. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 53,347 shares of company stock valued at $17,974,293 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth about $791,317,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $788,729,000. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 4,923.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $409,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339,225 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth about $221,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.
About Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.
Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.
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