Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) was down 6.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $460.28 and last traded at $462.09. Approximately 6,720,014 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 8,936,073 shares. The stock had previously closed at $496.16.
Western Digital News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: AI-related demand remains a key bullish factor. A reported shortage of storage products, expanding margins and a forecast-beating outlook have supported optimism about Western Digital’s earnings growth. The company’s latest quarter also showed strong momentum, with revenue up 43.8% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Is Western Digital Stock an Undervalued AI Stock to Buy?
- Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings-estimate revisions, favorable momentum commentary and a broader memory rally had attracted buyers, suggesting some investors still expect demand from data centers and AI infrastructure to drive higher results. Can Western Digital Run Higher on Rising Earnings Estimates?
- Neutral Sentiment: U.S. opposition to Apple sourcing high-bandwidth memory from Chinese suppliers could redirect some demand toward U.S.-linked storage and memory companies, potentially benefiting Western Digital. However, investors are also questioning whether the stock’s valuation already reflects too much of that upside. Western Digital Could Be 51% Overvalued on Apple China Memory Push
- Negative Sentiment: Rising Treasury yields are pressuring high-growth technology shares, while investors are rotating away from AI hardware following a Wall Street Journal report that raised concerns about undisclosed AI spending commitments. Memory and storage peers, including Micron and SanDisk, also sold off, intensifying pressure on WDC. Higher Rates Test the Memory Boom
- Negative Sentiment: The immediate risk is valuation: after a strong recent rally, analysts and traders may be taking profits and demanding stronger evidence that AI-driven demand can justify the stock’s elevated multiple. Technical selling during the broader technology pullback has added to the decline. What’s Going On With Western Digital Stock Tuesday?
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms have commented on WDC. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.56.
Western Digital Stock Performance
The stock’s fifty day moving average is $556.08 and its 200 day moving average is $430.29. The stock has a market cap of $159.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 2.14.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.
Western Digital Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced 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 payout ratio is currently 2.48%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,093 shares of company stock worth $11,650,737. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 28.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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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