Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $487.42, but opened at $528.81. Western Digital shares last traded at $530.1560, with a volume of 1,394,213 shares.
Key Stories Impacting Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are highlighting Western Digital as a top AI/storage beneficiary with short-term upside potential after recent volatility. Buy 3 Top-Ranked AI Giants on the Dip Amid Short-Term Price Upside
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital and Kioxia have reportedly restarted merger talks focused on combining flash memory assets, which could create a larger NAND player and improve strategic positioning. Western Digital (WDC) Revives Kioxia Merger Talks Over Flash Memory Assets
- Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital was also included in broader coverage of the AI trade returning to favor, with chip stocks and memory names rebounding together ahead of major tech earnings. The Stock Market’s AI Trade Is Back With a Bang
- Neutral Sentiment: Gene Munster’s comments about a potential 2027 AI-driven hardware upgrade cycle add to the bullish long-term narrative for memory demand, though this is more of a thematic tailwind than an immediate catalyst. AAPL, HPQ, SNDK, WDC: Gene Munster Says ‘Memory Hog’ AI Will Trigger a Massive 2027 Upgrade Cycle
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have commented on WDC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Fox Advisors lowered shares of Western Digital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.32.
Western Digital Stock Up 1.5%
The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $562.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $393.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23 and a beta of 2.11.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.58%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,959 shares of company stock valued at $12,631,666 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Western Digital by 7.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Western Digital by 229.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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