Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,295,439 Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,295,439 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $350,403,000. Western Digital accounts for approximately 1.7% of Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $456,884,000 after acquiring an additional 384,103 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the second 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $512,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,809,409 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $483,977,000 after purchasing an additional 159,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $463.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 2.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $565.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $402.35. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $69.30 and a 1 year high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure remains a major long-term growth driver. Western Digital supplies high-capacity hard drives used by cloud providers, and rising AI-generated data is supporting strong demand, tight supply and pricing power. 2 AI Stocks That Beat NVIDIA – and Could Soar Even Higher
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price targets for Western Digital and Seagate ahead of earnings, while other analysts remain bullish. Morgan Stanley reportedly set a $650 target and Citigroup maintained an $800 target, suggesting analysts view the selloff as potentially excessive if demand and margins remain strong. Seagate and Western Digital in Focus as Wedbush Raises Price Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Investment commentary highlighted Western Digital’s strong hard-drive demand and tighter supply, reinforcing the company’s improving revenue, margins and cash-generation outlook. Western Digital Surged on Strong Hard Drive Demand and Tighter Supply
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s Aug. 5 earnings report is the next major catalyst. Investors will focus on gross margins, pricing, supply conditions and guidance to determine whether AI demand is still translating into higher profitability. Western Digital’s Earnings Will Test Whether Its AI Rally Has More Room
• Negative Sentiment: The broader AI memory trade is unwinding, with investors reducing exposure to chip and storage companies amid a shaky risk appetite and expectations that market volatility could persist. Western Digital has also retreated substantially from its June peak, increasing concern that valuation expectations had moved too far ahead of fundamentals. The AI Memory Trade Is Crumbling
• Negative Sentiment: China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies’ highly successful IPO and advances in Chinese AI technology are raising concerns about future competition and whether the current memory and storage supply shortage can persist. CXMT’s Blockbuster IPO Hits Memory Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares worth approximately $428,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction was small relative to her remaining holdings, so it is a limited but slightly negative sentiment signal.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Weiss Ratings raised Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Western Digital from $685.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.32.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 29,767 shares of company stock worth $13,059,607 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% 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.