Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Twenty-five analysts give Western Digital a “Moderate Buy” consensus, including 18 buys and two strong buys, with an average 12-month price target of $534.56.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: Western Digital reported $3.56 in quarterly EPS and $3.75 billion in revenue, with revenue up 43.8% year over year. Management’s outlook is supported by demand from AI data centers and cloud storage, as well as upcoming 40TB drives and HAMR technology.
• Risks and valuation remain in focus: Shares opened at $435.38 after a 5.2% decline, while investor concerns include high valuation, customer concentration, competition and potential memory-price pressure. Insiders have also sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $534.56.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WDC. Bank of America lifted their target price on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.56 per share, revenue of $3.75 billion and year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 44%. Analysts say accelerating AI and cloud-storage demand, improving margins and the planned ramp of 40TB drives and HAMR technology support the company’s fiscal 2027 outlook. WDC's Strong Q4 Raises the Stakes for Its Fiscal 2027 Product Ramp
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary continues to view WDC as attractively positioned for growth because AI data centers require increasing storage capacity. However, the bullish case depends on successful product execution and sustained cloud spending. Western Digital: Time To Jump In Before Beast Mode Arrives Again
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital will participate in Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference on September 9. Management’s presentation could provide additional commentary on demand, pricing and the fiscal 2027 product ramp, but the announcement itself contains no new financial guidance. WD to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Cynthia L. Tregillis sold a combined 919 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sales represent a small reduction in her holdings and are less significant as a bearish signal because they were scheduled in advance. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors have rotated out of high-performing AI-chip and memory names ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report, weighing on WDC along with Micron and Seagate even though underlying storage demand remains firm. Micron, Seagate, Western Digital, Semtech, and Penguin Solutions Shares Are Falling
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple may source memory chips from Chinese suppliers have intensified concerns about competition and future pricing across the memory industry. WDC’s premium valuation, concentration in cloud customers and the need to execute its product ramp add to investor caution. Memory Stocks Slide on Report Apple May Source Chinese Chips

Western Digital Trading Down 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $435.38 on Tuesday. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $76.70 and a 12-month high of $799.87. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $547.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $435.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 2.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 114,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,663,290.57. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 25,598 shares of company stock worth $11,868,944 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 28.6% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.8% in the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 45.5% in the second quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.

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.

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