Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report)’s share price traded down 5.2% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $419.54 and last traded at $435.38. Approximately 7,742,487 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 8,877,335 shares. The stock had previously closed at $459.44.
Specifically, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 684 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.17, for a total value of $305,180.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 112,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,036,180.82. This represents a 0.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $112,158.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 113,928 shares in the company, valued at $54,374,416.56. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho set a $590.00 price target on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $534.56.
Western Digital News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $3.56 versus the $3.31 consensus and revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year. Management’s fiscal 2027 outlook and planned 40TB and HAMR product ramps reinforce the growth case as AI-driven data-center demand expands. WDC’s Strong Q4 Raises the Stakes for Its Fiscal 2027 Product Ramp
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to identify WDC as a strong AI-storage play, citing hyperscale demand, higher storage requirements, margin expansion and cash generation. Western Digital also received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with a reported average price target of $534.56. Western Digital vs. Teradata
- Neutral Sentiment: Management will present at Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference on September 9. Investors may look for updates on demand, pricing and the fiscal 2027 product ramp, although the announcement itself included no new guidance. WD to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
- Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital is assessing potential exposure to new U.S. sanctions involving countries that trade with Iran. Possible effects include additional compliance costs, supply-chain disruptions, shipment changes and contract-manufacturer constraints, but the company has not quantified any impact. Western Digital Is Assessing New Iran Sanctions Exposure
- Negative Sentiment: Investors have rotated out of high-performing AI-chip and memory names ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report, pressuring Western Digital along with Micron and Seagate. Reports that Apple may source memory chips from Chinese suppliers have added concerns about industry competition and pricing. Memory and AI Stocks Fall
- Negative Sentiment: WDC’s valuation and sharp prior rally leave little room for execution misses. Investors remain focused on cloud-customer concentration, sustained AI spending and successful delivery of next-generation drives. WDC’s Fiscal 2027 Product Ramp
Western Digital Stock Performance
The business’s fifty day moving average price is $543.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $436.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 2.14.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business’s revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 2.48%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after buying an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 229.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 55.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by 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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