Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark lifted their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $200.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $165.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $200.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.95.

Western Digital Trading Down 10.1%

NASDAQ WDC opened at $250.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $85.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.78. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $285.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $193.60 and a 200-day moving average of $137.10.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 44.67%. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.00, for a total value of $102,363.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 143,318 shares in the company, valued at $32,819,822. The trade was a 0.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 1,768 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $272,272.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,090. The trade was a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,816 shares of company stock worth $4,116,148. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 102.5% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 86.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 551.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat and upbeat guidance — WDC reported $2.13 EPS vs. ~$1.93 consensus and revenue of $3.02B (+25% Y/Y); management guided Q3 well above Street estimates, citing strong demand from AI/data center customers. Western Digital Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turn more bullish — several firms upped ratings/targets (Wells Fargo $335, Wedbush $325, TD Cowen to $325, Morgan Stanley, Citi maintain/raise Buy calls), reflecting expectations for sustained AI-led capacity demand and margin upside. Analyst Coverage & Price Target Changes
• Positive Sentiment: Management and CEO comments highlight AI-driven storage growth — CEO Irving Tan emphasized that AI inference is generating more data and requiring more storage, supporting ongoing demand for high‑capacity HDDs and flash. Western Digital CEO: AI inference is generating more data and requiring storage hence demand growth
• Positive Sentiment: Company to outline AI storage roadmap at Feb. 3 Innovation Day — investors have an upcoming event to get product/roadmap detail, which could provide further visibility on TAM and upside. Dear Western Digital Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for February 3
• Neutral Sentiment: Small quarterly dividend declared — WDC announced a $0.125 per‑share dividend (ex‑dividend Mar 5), a token yield that is unlikely to materially move the stock but may be noted by income investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares gave back gains after the initial rally — despite the beat and strong guide, intraday profit‑taking and repositioning pushed the stock down on elevated volume, suggesting some investors are booking gains after a rapid run. Western Digital Shares Give Up Gains After Earnings Beat, Strong Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/positioning risks — some analysts and market pieces noted WDC was overbought ahead of results; after a big run to an all‑time high, elevated expectations increase the risk of short‑term pullbacks. Overbought Ahead of Earnings

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.