Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $487.42, but opened at $528.81. Western Digital shares last traded at $530.1560, with a volume of 1,394,213 shares.
Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is benefiting from a broad rebound in memory stocks, alongside Micron and SanDisk, as investors buy the dip after weeks of heavy selling in the semiconductor group. Micron Jumps 5%, SanDisk Rises 6%, Western Digital Climbs 4% as Memory Stocks Rebound With Chips
- Positive Sentiment: Market commentary says the memory-stock selloff may have created a “strong entry point,” which could attract more buyers if investors believe the AI-driven demand cycle is still intact. The Memory Stock Sell-Off Created a ‘Strong Entry Point,’ Says Morgan Stanley. Investors Are Buying In.
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and strategists are pointing to a potential 2027 hardware refresh cycle tied to “memory hog” AI applications, supporting a longer-term bullish case for Western Digital. AAPL, HPQ, SNDK, WDC: Gene Munster Says ‘Memory Hog’ AI Will Trigger a Massive 2027 Upgrade Cycle
- Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital was also mentioned in broader market coverage of the AI rebound, with chip stocks leading a premarket recovery as tech sentiment improved. Chip Stocks Surge but Software Sector Feels the Pain Again
- Negative Sentiment: Recent articles note that WDC had been down sharply over the past month, reflecting ongoing volatility and concern that AI infrastructure spending may not remain as strong as expected. Micron Technology, Sandisk, and Western Digital Are Down Big in the Past Month. Is Now the Time to Buy?
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WDC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price target on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $560.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.32.
Western Digital Stock Up 11.7%
The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $560.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $388.23. The company has a market capitalization of $187.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 2.11.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 3.58%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction of $8,236,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,342,096. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total value of $235,699.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 116,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,640,420.80. This represents a 0.37% 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 have sold a total of 28,959 shares of company stock valued at $12,631,666 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Avion Wealth lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BOKF NA boosted its position in Western Digital by 6,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 272 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Western Digital Company Profile
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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