Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading Up 10.5% – Here’s What Happened

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) shares traded up 10.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $280.81 and last traded at $279.30. 6,270,607 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 8,681,133 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.66.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven memory shortage and ETF interest — Analysts and commentators highlight a multi-year memory supercycle (DRAM/NAND) tied to AI and hyperscaler spending, boosting demand/pricing for WDC’s high-capacity storage products; this sector momentum is attracting targeted ETFs that funnel capital into memory names. Tap the Super-Hot Memory Market With These ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: High conviction from media/TV personalities — Jim Cramer has flagged Western Digital as facing an unmet shortage and expects the company’s quarter to be “very positive,” which can drive retail and momentum flows into WDC ahead of results. Western Digital (WDC) is Facing a Shortage That Can’t Be Met, Says Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: New leveraged ETFs and product launches increase investor access — Tradr launched 2x leveraged ETFs targeting Sandisk and Western Digital, creating another channel for inflows and amplifying price moves when sentiment is favorable. Hot Stocks, Double Exposure: Tradr’s 2X ETFs Target Sandisk, Western Digital And Lumentum
• Positive Sentiment: Strong near-term fundamentals — Zacks previews WDC’s fiscal Q2 outlook (revenue guidance and demand from data centers/high-capacity drives) suggesting upside vs. consensus, supporting bullish positioning into earnings. Western Digital’s Q2 Earnings on Deck: Is the Stock Worth Buying Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Broker upgrades/sector calls — BNP Paribas and other outlets are raising targets and recommending memory/storage names (including WDC) as beneficiaries of sustained price strength, which supports analyst-driven buying interest. 4 Memory Chip Stocks to Buy as Prices Skyrocket
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum/valuation questions — Coverage notes WDC (and Sandisk) have surged ~400% over the past year; some outlets ask whether the rally leaves less upside and urge caution on stretched multiples despite strong fundamentals. SanDisk and Western Digital are up 400 in 1 Year. Should You Still Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Relative trade: Micron seen as preferable by some analysts — A Zacks piece argues Micron (MU) may offer more upside due to cheaper valuation and similar exposure to the memory tightness, which could pull some dollars away from WDC in comparative trade setups. Western Digital vs. Micron: Which Data Storage Stock Has More Upside?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Western Digital to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Western Digital to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $135.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.48.

Western Digital Stock Up 10.6%

The firm has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.70, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.32.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.21. Western Digital had a return on equity of 30.89% and a net margin of 21.37%.The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.730-2.030 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 1,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $272,272.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,090. This trade represents a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,816 shares of company stock worth $4,116,148. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 86.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital by 551.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by 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.