Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading Up 4% – Time to Buy?

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s share price traded up 4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $470.00 and last traded at $468.88. 5,020,164 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 8,829,222 shares. The stock had previously closed at $450.75.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry analysts continue to identify WDC as a beneficiary of spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and automotive applications. Western Digital, SanDisk and Super Micro Computer were highlighted as attractive storage-related names. 3 Storage Devices Stocks to Buy as the Industry Gains Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: WDC recently reported a strong quarter, with revenue rising 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion and EPS of $3.56, exceeding the $3.31 consensus estimate. Fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.15 reinforces the bullish earnings narrative.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s agreement to exchange approximately $191 million of 3% convertible notes due 2028 may improve its balance sheet and reduce future debt obligations. The stock component could cause some dilution, but investors have generally viewed the transaction as constructive liability management. Western Digital Convertible Note Exchange
• Positive Sentiment: Technical commentary points to a possible bottom, supported by a recent hammer pattern and upward earnings-estimate revisions. Wall Street’s consensus remains bullish, with a reported average target above recent trading levels. Western Digital May Find a Bottom Soon

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WDC. UBS Group reduced their target price on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.5%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $532.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $439.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Western Digital’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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 26,117 shares of company stock valued at $12,053,353 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% in 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. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.