Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Buys Shares of 2,277 Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Ausdal Financial Partners initiated a Western Digital position by purchasing 2,277 shares valued at approximately $1.45 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Western Digital reported quarterly revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year, and EPS of $3.56, beating analysts’ $3.31 estimate. Strong AI, cloud and data-center demand continues to support the business.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, although price targets vary significantly. Recent insider selling, potential sanctions-related disruptions and elevated AI-sector valuations remain risks.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,277 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,454,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Western Digital by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $456,884,000 after acquiring an additional 384,103 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $512,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,809,409 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $483,977,000 after purchasing an additional 159,167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $468.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $799.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $538.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $438.22.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The firm's revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital disclosed exchange agreements covering approximately $191 million of its 3.00% convertible notes due 2028. The transaction will provide holders with cash and shares, potentially reducing debt, although the stock component could create some dilution. The exchanges are expected to close on or after September 2. Western Digital convertible notes article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to see support from AI, cloud and data-center demand. Western Digital recently reported quarterly revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.56 versus the $3.31 consensus. Management’s next-quarter outlook also points to continued strong growth. Western Digital debt exchange and AI demand analysis
• Positive Sentiment: A hammer chart pattern suggests technical support after the stock’s recent decline, while upward earnings-estimate revisions may improve the likelihood of a near-term rebound. Western Digital bottoming pattern article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a median recent price target of approximately $597.50. However, targets vary widely, reflecting uncertainty around valuation and execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is assessing potential effects from new U.S. sanctions related to Iran, including possible compliance costs, supply-chain disruptions and impacts on contract manufacturing or shipments. Western Digital Iran sanctions exposure article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity has been heavily weighted toward sales, including transactions by executives and directors. The reported sales were made under pre-arranged trading plans, reducing their significance, but they remain a potential overhang for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader caution toward highly valued AI and memory stocks, ahead of Nvidia’s earnings, and concerns about potential Chinese memory competition could pressure sector valuations and future pricing.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,634 shares of company stock valued at $11,357,073. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.56.

About Western Digital

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source