Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $386.94, but opened at $359.00. Western Digital shares last traded at $368.0440, with a volume of 2,515,478 shares traded.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is expected to report substantial year-over-year earnings growth in its upcoming fiscal first-quarter results. Analysts are also looking for continued benefits from high-capacity storage demand, cloud infrastructure expansion and AI-related data growth. Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Western Digital’s Report
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis highlights Western Digital’s strong fiscal 2026 results and upbeat fiscal 2027 outlook, supported by rising demand for high-capacity drives used in cloud and AI data centers. The company’s growth trajectory remains a longer-term support for the stock, although valuation expectations are now high after its significant multiyear rally. Is Western Digital’s AI-Fueled Outlook Reframing Its Role in Cloud Infrastructure Leadership?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are debating whether Western Digital can sustain approximately 44% fiscal 2027 revenue growth. Cloud demand, AI-driven storage needs and favorable pricing are encouraging, but the comparison base and elevated expectations create greater execution risk. Can Western Digital Sustain 44% Revenue Growth in Fiscal 2027?
• Negative Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target amid concerns about HDD supply, adding a company-specific reason for investor pressure ahead of earnings. Western Digital Shares Fall as UBS Cuts Price Target Amid HDD Supply Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: A global chip selloff is weighing on AI-exposed technology stocks as investors question the sustainability of AI investment and assess intensifying competition. Global Chip Selloff Deepens as AI Worries, China Competition Weigh
• Negative Sentiment: Chinese memory maker CXMT reportedly flagged progress on a denser server-chip design, raising fears that increased Chinese competition could pressure pricing and future demand in the most profitable storage and memory markets. The resulting sector selloff has spread to Western Digital and other storage names. SK Hynix Sinks as Seoul Selloff Extends; Western Digital and Seagate Drop

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $525.00 to $470.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Western Digital from $650.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $618.63.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $453.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $476.04. The company has a market cap of $139.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s 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. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 2.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 71.4% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,578 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $147,275,000 after purchasing an additional 96,078 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $19,694,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $14,466,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,599,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,307,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About Western Digital

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.