Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading Up 1% – Time to Buy?

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) shares were up 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $495.49 and last traded at $482.28. Approximately 4,015,626 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 8,654,988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $477.30.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong. Citi reaffirmed a Buy rating and raised its price target to $740, citing AI-driven storage demand exceeding supply. Recent analyst targets have generally remained well above the current trading level, supporting the long-term bullish case. Western Digital Buy Rating Reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish investment theses remain intact. Recent commentary argues that the stock’s correction removed excessive valuation froth without undermining its potential for continued compounding. Another analysis frames Western Digital as better positioned than in the previous industry cycle, while a scenario analysis places a bull-case value near $725 versus a $290 bear case. Western Digital Correction Analysis Western Digital Stock Prediction
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain healthy. Western Digital’s latest reported quarter included 43.8% year-over-year revenue growth, earnings above estimates and guidance for approximately $4.00 in fiscal first-quarter non-GAAP EPS. However, the company’s September conference appearance produced no major new upside catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and sector pressure drove the near-term weakness. Western Digital fell alongside Seagate and Micron as rising yields, higher oil prices and broader technology selling reduced appetite for higher-multiple memory and storage stocks. Memory Stocks Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling may be adding investor caution. Recent filings reportedly show substantial insider sales and no insider purchases over the past six months. The data is not necessarily evidence of weakening fundamentals, but it can weigh on sentiment when the stock lacks a fresh catalyst.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WDC. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.6%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $495.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $452.06. The firm has a market cap of $154.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 2.13.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. Research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and sells data storage products and solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises, businesses and consumers. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs), including high-capacity enterprise drives used in cloud and data center environments, as well as products for network-attached storage, surveillance and personal computing.

The company markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK and Ultrastar.