Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Climb 6.1% – Here’s Why

Posted by George Bondi on Oct 19th, 2026

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) rose 6.1% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $356.25 and last traded at $352.21. 7,787,722 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 8,646,011 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $650.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Western Digital from $650.00 to $615.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $608.26.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WDC

Western Digital Trading Up 6.1%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $442.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $478.41. The stock has a market cap of $131.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 2.11.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%. The company’s revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,437 shares of company stock valued at $11,461,345. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $350,403,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,146,133 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $310,018,000 after purchasing an additional 153,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.