Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Falls 1.6% – What’s Next?

Posted by Brian Himes on Oct 15th, 2026

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) dropped 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $358.26 and last traded at $380.71. Approximately 12,349,972 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 43% from the average daily volume of 8,644,241 shares. The stock had previously closed at $386.94.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s bullish case remains tied to strong AI infrastructure demand, with the company having exceeded earnings expectations in five consecutive quarters. One Wall Street analyst cited the potential for a substantial rebound after the stock’s recent decline. Western Digital Lost One Third Its Value Over 3 Months
Positive Sentiment: Recent financial results provide support for the long-term thesis: Western Digital’s latest reported quarter beat consensus estimates for earnings and revenue, while revenue grew sharply year over year. The company also issued positive forward earnings guidance.
Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting Western Digital’s next quarterly earnings report, which could clarify demand trends, pricing, margins and the effect of new competition. Analyst commentary is mixed, with one analysis favoring Seagate over Western Digital while another argues that Western Digital remains attractive relative to peers. Seagate Is the Better Trade
Negative Sentiment: Chinese memory maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is reportedly targeting server memory with a denser chip design. Because server memory is among the industry’s most profitable segments, investors fear increased supply and pricing pressure could weaken the earnings outlook for Western Digital and other AI-related memory stocks. Memory Stocks Extend Selloff on China Competition Fears
Negative Sentiment: Additional commentary warns that Western Digital may be nearing a cyclical top, raising concerns that strong fundamentals and AI enthusiasm are already reflected in expectations. A broader selloff in the AI trade and technology sector is adding to the pressure. Western Digital: The Fundamentals of a Cycle Top

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $618.63.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on WDC

Western Digital Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $133.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 2.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $446.79 and its 200 day moving average is $477.28.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.48%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 349.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 2,039 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 593 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 87,122 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $55,647,000 after buying an additional 21,337 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,487 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 112.8% in the 2nd quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and supplies data-storage products and solutions. The company’s portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs) used in cloud and enterprise data centers, personal computers, network-attached storage systems and other applications that require high-capacity data storage.

Western Digital markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD and Ultrastar. Its offerings include enterprise and data-center HDDs, storage products for business and consumer systems, and related technologies designed to help organizations store, manage and access large volumes of data.

Founded in 1970, Western Digital has evolved from a maker of electronic components into a global data-storage company.