Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Raised to $650.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised Western Digital’s price target to $650 from $600 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying substantial upside; analysts collectively hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $586.96.
• Western Digital reported quarterly EPS of $4.64 and revenue of $4.38 billion, beating estimates, while revenue rose 55.5% year over year. Management issued stronger guidance for the next quarter, projecting revenue of $5.0–$5.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $5.60–$6.00.
• Shares closed at $346.58 after declining $7.61, amid concerns about elevated capital spending, potential supply increases and whether AI-driven storage demand and pricing growth can persist.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $600.00 to $650.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the data storage provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target suggests a potential upside of 87.54% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.96.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC traded down $7.61 on Friday, hitting $346.58. 9,013,251 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,668,788. The business's fifty day moving average is $435.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $480.46. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $121.85 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Western Digital will post 19.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 807 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $306,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,392,640. This trade represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $350,403,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 15.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,146,133 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $310,018,000 after buying an additional 153,600 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal Q1 2027 adjusted earnings of $4.64 per share and revenue of $4.38 billion, beating estimates of approximately $4.09–$4.11 EPS and $4.14 billion in revenue. Sales increased 55.5% year over year, supported by cloud demand, higher-capacity drives and improved pricing. Western Digital Q1 earnings and dividend article
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued substantially stronger fiscal Q2 guidance, calling for revenue of $5.0 billion to $5.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $5.60 to $6.00, well above consensus estimates. Gross margins are expected to approach 60% as pricing and product mix remain favorable. Western Digital second-quarter outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital generated approximately $1.38 billion in free cash flow during Q1 and increased its quarterly dividend by 16.7% to $0.175 per share. Management also cited durable storage demand from AI infrastructure, inference and robotics, with major customers planning capacity years ahead. Western Digital revenue and cash flow report
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts broadly maintained constructive ratings, but several reduced price targets after earnings. TD Cowen lowered its target to $430 while retaining a Buy rating; Rosenblatt and Cantor Fitzgerald also cut targets but remained positive. The revisions suggest confidence in the business remains, though expectations and valuation are being reset.
• Negative Sentiment: The strong results were not enough to overcome concerns about rising capital expenditures, potential HDD supply increases, inventory levels and the eventual slowdown of pricing growth. Investors are also questioning whether AI-related demand and hyperscaler spending can remain at current levels.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital’s stock has decreased amid a wider technology and AI-stock sell-off, encouraging profit-taking after a substantial longer-term rally. A disclosed insider sale of 807 shares was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and was modest relative to the insider’s remaining holdings, but added a minor sentiment overhang. SEC insider sale filing

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ: WDC is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.

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