Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading 15.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 1st, 2026

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded up 15.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $547.07 and last traded at $533.04. 8,266,894 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 8,925,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $462.04.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

Positive Sentiment: A significant “Power Inflow” alert, indicating strong institutional and retail buying pressure, helped trigger a sharp intraday rebound in Western Digital shares. Traders viewed the order-flow signal as bullish. Western Digital Shares Rise 4% After Key Trading Signal
Positive Sentiment: Western Digital was included among AI-infrastructure stocks that could benefit from more than $750 billion in planned 2026 Big Tech spending. Rising demand for data-center storage and memory supports the company’s growth outlook. Buy 5 AI Infrastructure Stocks as Big Tech’s AI Spending Continues
Positive Sentiment: The broader memory and storage sector rebounded strongly after a sharp selloff, lifting Western Digital alongside SanDisk, Micron, Seagate and SK Hynix. Analysts cited improving industry fundamentals, strong AI demand and limited near-term risk of semiconductor oversupply as reasons for optimism. Memory Stocks Blast Off
Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages currently assign Western Digital an average “Moderate Buy” recommendation, while investor attention has increased. The heightened interest may support trading momentum but also reflects the stock’s high volatility. Western Digital Given Average Recommendation of Moderate Buy
Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling contributed to a prior decline and remains a sentiment overhang, particularly after Western Digital’s substantial rally. Western Digital Trading Down Following Insider Selling
Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a key risk. Western Digital has been one of the strongest performers in the AI memory and storage trade, but its elevated valuation leaves less room for disappointment when the company reports earnings. Western Digital’s Earnings Will Test Whether Its AI Rally Has More Room

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $520.32.

Read Our Latest Report on Western Digital

Western Digital Trading Up 2.2%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $568.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $407.59. The firm has a market cap of $187.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 114,539 shares in the company, valued at $60,663,290.57. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,767 shares of company stock worth $4,822,807 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 1.8% in the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Western Digital

(Get Free Report)

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.