Benchmark Raises Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $115.00

Key Points

• Benchmark has raised its price target for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) from $85.00 to $115.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.54% from the current price, while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Several research firms have also increased their price targets for Western Digital, with Morgan Stanley setting it at $99.00 and Barclays at $105.00, reflecting a generally optimistic outlook from analysts.
• Western Digital's stock was up 5.6% to $103.11 in midday trading, following a strong quarterly earnings report that exceeded analysts' expectations with $1.66 EPS and revenue of $2.61 billion.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by Benchmark from $85.00 to $115.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Benchmark's price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.54% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WDC. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.56.

Western Digital Stock Up 5.6%

WDC stock traded up $5.45 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $103.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,657,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,906,833. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $103.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.31.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,121,547.78. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 102.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 86.9% in 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. CNB Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 47.2% in the 2nd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 577 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.

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