Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Moved Down to Buy by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Digital from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $591.04.
• Western Digital reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $4.64 in earnings per share and $4.38 billion in revenue, representing 55.5% year-over-year growth.
• The stock faces volatility and sentiment pressure despite strong AI-storage demand, with shares trading below their 50- and 200-day moving averages and company insiders selling shares during the quarter.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WDC. Susquehanna set a $405.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $900.00 price target on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $591.04.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $366.11 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $421.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $416.75. The stock has a market cap of $137.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital has a one year low of $132.43 and a one year high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the 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 owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,436 shares of company stock valued at $11,340,064. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,578 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $147,275,000 after buying an additional 96,078 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,694,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,466,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,599,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,307,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue of $4.38 billion, non-GAAP EPS of $4.64 and free cash flow of $1.38 billion, exceeding expectations. Management also forecast approximately $5.1 billion in fiscal second-quarter revenue and $5.80 in non-GAAP EPS, signaling continued strength in AI-related data-center storage demand. Western Digital slides as strong results fail to calm spending and sector worries
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain well above the current trading level, with Quiver Quantitative citing a six-month median target of $650. Several analysts view Western Digital as a major beneficiary of AI infrastructure expansion and rising demand for high-capacity nearline hard drives. Western Digital selloff and analyst targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital and Seagate are both benefiting from AI data-center spending. However, comparisons favor Seagate on some metrics, including return on equity, valuation and free-cash-flow generation, potentially affecting investor preference within the storage group. Seagate versus Western Digital
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether AI infrastructure spending and lofty storage-sector valuations can remain sustainable. A sharp decline in Sandisk and weakness across memory and semiconductor stocks amplified pressure on WDC, even after Sandisk delivered strong results and raised guidance. Memory-sector selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending of $227 million, continued buybacks and capacity and technology-transition needs have raised concerns about cash demands and future returns. Profit-taking after WDC’s substantial earlier advance may also be contributing to the decline. Quiver also reports 110 insider sales and no insider purchases over the past six months, an additional sentiment headwind. Western Digital spending and insider activity

Western Digital Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.