Caxton Associates LLP Takes $354,000 Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP acquired 8,754 shares of Western Digital Corporation, valued at approximately $354,000, reflecting growing institutional interest in the stock.
• Western Digital reported an EPS of $1.66 for the last quarter, which exceeded analyst expectations by $0.18, and the company anticipates Q1 2026 earnings in the range of 1.540-1.690 EPS.
• Several brokerages have upgraded their price targets for Western Digital, with Barclays raising its target from $80.00 to $105.00, indicating increasing confidence in the company's stock performance.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,754 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Western Digital by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC traded up $4.73 on Monday, reaching $102.39. The company had a trading volume of 12,520,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,266,723. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $103.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.69. The company has a market cap of $35.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total value of $28,557.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,425 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,682.50. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock valued at $3,935,806. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.44.

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.