Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 4.8% – What’s Next?

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s stock price was down 4.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $441.67 and last traded at $458.68. Approximately 8,972,412 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 9,186,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $482.02.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital announced industry-first post-quantum cryptography hard drives, a move aimed at securing AI data and strengthening its position in high-capacity enterprise storage. WD Advances Next-Generation Trusted Infrastructure with Industry’s First Post-Quantum Cryptography Hard Drives to Help Secure the Future of AI Data
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlight that AI infrastructure is driving a memory and storage shortage, with Western Digital mentioned as one of the companies benefiting from stronger demand. Memory Chip Stocks to Watch: Micron (MU), SK Hynix, and Western Digital Lead AI Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary says AI storage demand is beginning to show up in pricing power for Western Digital and Seagate, which could support margins and earnings. Seagate and Western Digital: AI Storage Demand Is Now Showing Up in Pricing Power
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains favorable, with Western Digital reportedly receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. Western Digital Corporation Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Several linked stories focus on peers like Micron, Sandisk, and Seagate, but they mostly reinforce the same theme: storage demand is strong across the industry, which indirectly supports Western Digital. Why Did Sandisk Stock Drop Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: One article suggests any negative news for Micron may be far in the future, indicating broader sector uncertainty is not an immediate issue for Western Digital. Why Did Micron Stock Drop Today?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Western Digital to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $488.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.83.

Western Digital Stock Down 4.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $158.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 2.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.Western Digital’s revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction of $8,236,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $246,342,096. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total transaction of $2,071,470.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 90,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,905,270.79. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,679 shares of company stock worth $18,049,314. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,282,393 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,196,484,000 after purchasing an additional 243,177 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter worth $791,317,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $456,884,000 after purchasing an additional 384,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 11.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,804,907 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $456,737,000 after buying an additional 402,981 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.