Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 30.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 187,622 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 80,946 shares during the period. Western Digital accounts for about 3.0% of Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $22,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,317 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $6,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at $641,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,244,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $636,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 35.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 234,245 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $28,123,000 after acquiring an additional 61,166 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WDC. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $193.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. New Street Research set a $250.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.58.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus on tight high-capacity HDD supply for cloud/AI workloads and Western Digital’s expanded $4.0 billion share-repurchase authorization is supporting the rally; the company’s Innovation Day roadmap (40TB UltraSMR ePMR HDD in hyperscaler qualification) reinforces the growth narrative for AI storage. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Positive Sentiment: Customer narrative pieces highlight strong enterprise demand for hard drives, which backs the thesis that nearline/HDD capacity remains tight and pricing power could persist. Customer Narrative on Hard Drives Bodes Well for Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and relative performance remain constructive: WDC has materially outperformed the broader tech sector over the past year and multiple brokers maintain bullish ratings and elevated price targets, which provides momentum and buy-side interest. How Is Western Digital’s Stock Performance Compared to Other Technology Stocks?
• Positive Sentiment: Media commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) have included WDC on watchlists as a name to buy on market dips, which can amplify flows when broader-market pullbacks occur. Cramer: Buy Western Digital, Micron, Seagate on oil-driven dips
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnership/solution announcements (e.g., VDURA combining WD Ultrastar hybrid platforms with cloud-scale AI file architecture) extend product reach but are incremental until they produce visible revenue/contract wins. VDURA to Combine Scalable WD Ultrastar Hybrid Storage Platforms with Cloud-Scale AI File Architecture
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy recently (multiple exec sales reported), which can be interpreted negatively by some investors and may weigh on sentiment despite company-level buybacks. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro pressure from rising oil and choppy futures can drag broader tech names; recent headlines show futures slipping as oil jumps, which can trigger short-term volatility for WDC. Dow Jones Futures Fall As Oil Prices Run Past $90; Oracle, Nvidia Lift These AI Names
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term pullbacks have occurred (coverage noting WDC fell more than the broader market), so momentum can reverse quickly after a sharp rally — watch valuation and volume on moves. Western Digital (WDC) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total transaction of $5,108,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 623,586 shares in the company, valued at $159,288,807.84. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total value of $2,501,349.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,643,630.14. This trade represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 92,795 shares of company stock worth $24,265,884 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $272.29 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $309.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $255.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.76.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 5.02%.

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.