Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Down 2.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) traded down 2.6% on Monday. The company traded as low as $385.89 and last traded at $386.94. 5,353,813 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 8,624,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $397.28.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital has exceeded earnings expectations in each of its last five quarters. Its latest report showed $3.56 in earnings per share on $3.75 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 43.8% year over year. Management’s fiscal first-quarter 2027 guidance of approximately $3.85-$4.15 in EPS supports the bullish case. Western Digital Lost One Third Its Value Over 3 Months
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the recent selloff, some analysts remain optimistic about a rebound. The provided analyst data shows a six-month median price target of $597.50, substantially above recent trading levels, although targets may change as market conditions develop.
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on October 22. Investors will focus on whether strong demand, margins and the company’s roughly $4.1 billion revenue outlook can be sustained. Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies is reportedly targeting server memory with a denser chip design. Investors fear that new competition could pressure pricing and margins in the profitable memory and AI-data-center supply chain, weighing on Western Digital along with Micron, Seagate and SK Hynix. CXMT Aims at Server Memory
• Negative Sentiment: UBS lowered its Western Digital price target while maintaining a neutral rating, citing uncertainty over HDD capacity, supply and future pricing. The downgrade increased pressure ahead of earnings. Price-Target Cut and HDD Supply Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology stocks are also facing concerns that AI infrastructure spending may not justify current valuations, adding to sector-wide selling. Reported insider activity showing sales and no purchases over the past six months may further dampen sentiment, though it is not necessarily a forecast of business performance.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $650.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $618.63.

Western Digital Trading Down 4.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $136.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 2.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $449.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $476.64.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the business’s 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 owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were 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 directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This represents 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. Insiders have sold 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 349.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 2,039 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.5% during the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 593 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 32.4% during 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 buying an additional 21,337 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% during 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 buying an additional 2,142 shares during the period. Finally, ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 112.8% during 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 buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Western Digital

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.