Avala Global LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Avala Global LP cut its stake in Western Digital by 19.6% in Q3, selling 46,200 shares and leaving it with 189,100 shares worth about $22.7 million (WDC is ~0.9% of the fund and its 28th largest holding).
• Western Digital beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.13 vs. $1.93 expected; revenue $3.02B, up 25.2% year-over-year) and is being buoyed by AI/cloud storage demand and a newly expanded $4.0 billion share-repurchase authorization.
• Despite strong institutional ownership (≈92.5%), insiders have sold heavily—92,795 shares worth about $24.3M in the past 90 days—while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a ~$265.58 price target.

Avala Global LP lessened its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 19.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,100 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 46,200 shares during the quarter. Western Digital comprises approximately 0.9% of Avala Global LP's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Avala Global LP owned approximately 0.06% of Western Digital worth $22,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 551.4% during the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $272.29 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $255.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.13. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $309.90. The firm has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 5.02%.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus on tight high-capacity HDD supply for cloud/AI workloads and Western Digital’s expanded $4.0 billion share-repurchase authorization is supporting the rally; the company’s Innovation Day roadmap (40TB UltraSMR ePMR HDD in hyperscaler qualification) reinforces the growth narrative for AI storage. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Positive Sentiment: Customer narrative pieces highlight strong enterprise demand for hard drives, which backs the thesis that nearline/HDD capacity remains tight and pricing power could persist. Customer Narrative on Hard Drives Bodes Well for Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and relative performance remain constructive: WDC has materially outperformed the broader tech sector over the past year and multiple brokers maintain bullish ratings and elevated price targets, which provides momentum and buy-side interest. How Is Western Digital's Stock Performance Compared to Other Technology Stocks?
• Positive Sentiment: Media commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) have included WDC on watchlists as a name to buy on market dips, which can amplify flows when broader-market pullbacks occur. Cramer: Buy Western Digital, Micron, Seagate on oil-driven dips
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnership/solution announcements (e.g., VDURA combining WD Ultrastar hybrid platforms with cloud-scale AI file architecture) extend product reach but are incremental until they produce visible revenue/contract wins. VDURA to Combine Scalable WD Ultrastar Hybrid Storage Platforms with Cloud-Scale AI File Architecture
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy recently (multiple exec sales reported), which can be interpreted negatively by some investors and may weigh on sentiment despite company-level buybacks. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro pressure from rising oil and choppy futures can drag broader tech names; recent headlines show futures slipping as oil jumps, which can trigger short-term volatility for WDC. Dow Jones Futures Fall As Oil Prices Run Past $90; Oracle, Nvidia Lift These AI Names
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term pullbacks have occurred (coverage noting WDC fell more than the broader market), so momentum can reverse quickly after a sharp rally — watch valuation and volume on moves. Western Digital (WDC) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total transaction of $2,501,349.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,630.14. The trade was a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 8,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.32, for a total transaction of $2,174,815.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 99,276 shares in the company, valued at $25,347,148.32. This trade represents a 7.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 92,795 shares of company stock worth $24,265,884 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $197.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Digital from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $306.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $265.58.

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.

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