Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading Up 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) traded up 2.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $489.20 and last traded at $477.30. 6,303,940 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 8,673,495 shares. The stock had previously closed at $467.46.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed its Buy rating and raised its price target to $740. Analyst Asiya Merchant cited AI-driven storage demand and supply constraints, suggesting substantial upside if data-center demand remains strong. Citi Buy Rating and Price Target Article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating results remain strong. Western Digital’s latest report showed revenue growth of approximately 44% year over year, earnings above analyst expectations, and fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.15. These results support the longer-term AI and data-center storage thesis.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly constructive, but valuation expectations vary. The stock has a median recent price target of $597.50, while targets range from $500 to $900. This indicates continued confidence in Western Digital’s growth prospects but also heightened sensitivity to execution and market conditions.
• Negative Sentiment: Storage stocks sold off across the sector. Western Digital declined alongside Seagate, Micron and SK Hynix as higher Treasury yields, rising oil prices and broader pressure on high-multiple technology stocks outweighed favorable analyst commentary. Memory Stocks Sector Selloff Article
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated insider selling may be adding to near-term caution. Recent filings show sales by multiple executives, including transactions conducted under Rule 10b5-1 plans. The sales do not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals, but the lack of reported insider purchases can weigh on sentiment when the sector is under pressure. Western Digital Insider Selling Article

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $496.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $450.83. The company has a market cap of $158.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 2.13.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,263 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $11,026,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 480.4% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 296 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $384,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 24,252 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $15,490,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 788 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and sells data storage products and solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises, businesses and consumers. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs), including high-capacity enterprise drives used in cloud and data center environments, as well as products for network-attached storage, surveillance and personal computing.

The company markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK and Ultrastar.