Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Up 6.3% – Should You Buy?

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

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts previously characterized Toshiba’s planned production expansion as manageable, arguing that the HDD market remains undersupplied and that Toshiba would still trail Western Digital and Seagate in scale. This helped support a rebound in WDC shares during the prior session. Western Digital and Seagate shares bounce back as analysts downplay the Toshiba threat
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest reported quarter showed strong fundamentals: earnings and revenue exceeded consensus estimates, revenue increased 43.8% year over year, and management issued first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings guidance of $3.85–$4.15 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: The AI infrastructure buildout continues to drive demand for high-capacity HDD storage, creating a favorable long-term opportunity for WDC. However, investors are increasingly focused on whether new industry capacity could weaken pricing and margins. Seagate vs. Western Digital vs. Toshiba: The AI Storage War Is Getting Serious
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns returned after reports that Toshiba intends to expand HDD production, potentially increasing future supply and intensifying competition for AI-storage customers. The news pressured Western Digital and Seagate while leaving memory-chip stocks comparatively less affected. Western Digital Sinks as Toshiba’s Drive Expansion Hits the Group
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Seagate and Toshiba are competing to acquire TDK’s hard-drive magnetic-heads business added another concern. Investors may view control of the only independent magnetic-recording-head supplier as a potential advantage for rivals in technology, capacity, and supply-chain control. Western Digital Stock Drops Tuesday: Here’s Why

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Fox Advisors downgraded Western Digital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Trading Down 6.9%

The firm has a market cap of $141.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 2.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $462.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,437 shares of company stock valued at $11,461,345. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 593 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 32.4% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 87,122 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $55,647,000 after acquiring an additional 21,337 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,487 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,142 shares in the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 112.8% in the second quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,263 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $11,026,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.