Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Up 6.3% – Here’s What Happened

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) was up 6.3% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $447.71 and last traded at $441.64. 11,248,695 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 30% from the average daily volume of 8,624,788 shares. The stock had previously closed at $415.29.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts downplayed the Toshiba threat. Wall Street research indicated that even a substantial expansion in Toshiba’s HDD production would not quickly close the scale and capacity gap with Western Digital and Seagate. Analysts characterized the recent selloff as excessive and suggested investors “buy the dip.” Western Digital and Seagate shares bounce back as analysts downplay the Toshiba threat
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains a key bullish catalyst. Western Digital is being highlighted as a major potential beneficiary of the AI buildout, which is increasing demand for high-capacity storage and HDDs as data-center workloads expand. The company’s fiscal fourth-quarter sales reportedly rose about 44%, while earnings more than doubled year over year. Western Digital vs. Sandisk: One AI Storage Stock Is Good, the Other Is Better, Says Top Investor
• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum improved. Trading commentary pointed to a rebound from support near $415, adding to the view that the prior decline may have created an attractive entry point for investors who remain bullish on the storage cycle. Stock of the Day: Is this the Bottom for Western Digital?
• Neutral Sentiment: Competition remains a risk. Toshiba’s plan to expand HDD production initially pressured WDC and raised concerns about future supply and pricing, although analysts currently believe the market remains undersupplied and that Western Digital’s scale provides protection.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fox Advisors cut Western Digital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Up 6.3%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $465.11 and a 200-day moving average of $471.74. The firm has a market cap of $152.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.20, for a total transaction of $194,918.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 111,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,096,736. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 25,437 shares of company stock valued at $11,461,345 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.