Insider Selling: Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells $112,158.45 in Stock

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $112,158.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 113,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,374,416.56. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of WDC opened at $468.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $161.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 2.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $538.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $438.22. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital disclosed exchange agreements covering approximately $191 million of its 3.00% convertible notes due 2028. The transaction will provide holders with cash and shares, potentially reducing debt, although the stock component could create some dilution. The exchanges are expected to close on or after September 2. Western Digital convertible notes article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to see support from AI, cloud and data-center demand. Western Digital recently reported quarterly revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.56 versus the $3.31 consensus. Management’s next-quarter outlook also points to continued strong growth. Western Digital debt exchange and AI demand analysis
• Positive Sentiment: A hammer chart pattern suggests technical support after the stock’s recent decline, while upward earnings-estimate revisions may improve the likelihood of a near-term rebound. Western Digital bottoming pattern article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a median recent price target of approximately $597.50. However, targets vary widely, reflecting uncertainty around valuation and execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is assessing potential effects from new U.S. sanctions related to Iran, including possible compliance costs, supply-chain disruptions and impacts on contract manufacturing or shipments. Western Digital Iran sanctions exposure article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity has been heavily weighted toward sales, including transactions by executives and directors. The reported sales were made under pre-arranged trading plans, reducing their significance, but they remain a potential overhang for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader caution toward highly valued AI and memory stocks, ahead of Nvidia’s earnings, and concerns about potential Chinese memory competition could pressure sector valuations and future pricing.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 1.8% during the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 45.5% in the second quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WDC. Fox Advisors lowered shares of Western Digital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Western Digital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.56.

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.