Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Wedbush from $260.00 to $325.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 24.51% from the company’s previous close.
Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Mizuho set a $325.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $200.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.38.
View Our Latest Research Report on Western Digital
Western Digital Stock Down 6.2%
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 30.89% and a net margin of 21.37%.Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total transaction of $3,013,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,265,422.23. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 1,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total transaction of $272,272.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,090. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,816 shares of company stock valued at $4,116,148 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Western Digital
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,282,393 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,196,484,000 after buying an additional 243,177 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,305,289 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $593,045,000 after purchasing an additional 186,030 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the third quarter valued at about $791,317,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Western Digital by 8.5% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,535,972 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $354,247,000 after purchasing an additional 431,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Western Digital by 11.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $456,884,000 after purchasing an additional 384,103 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Reported fiscal Q2 results beat expectations: EPS $2.13 vs. $1.93 est., revenue $3.02B (up ~25% YoY). Management highlighted strong demand for data‑center and AI storage. Western Digital Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
- Positive Sentiment: Management issued upbeat Q3 guidance (EPS range 2.15–2.45; revenue ~$3.1B–$3.3B), above Street forecasts — an explicit signal that AI/server storage demand should remain strong. Western Digital expects quarterly revenue above estimates on strong storage demand (Reuters)
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and the market have pushed the stock higher ahead of results (peer Seagate’s strong print helped the group); TD Cowen raised its WDC price target to $325 and maintains a Buy — a material catalyst for further upside.
- Neutral Sentiment: Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.125/share (small yield ~0.2%); modest income signal but not a major price driver.
- Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary flagged WDC as “overbought” heading into earnings, increasing the risk of near‑term pullbacks despite strong fundamentals. Western Digital Stock Is in Overbought Territory Ahead of Earnings (Barchart)
- Negative Sentiment: Prominent commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) warned about “chasing” memory/storage rallies — a behavioral headwind that can amplify selling if momentum falters. Jim Cramer Says He Doesn’t “Want to Chase” Storage Memory Plays
About Western Digital
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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