Clearline Capital LP Sells 21,351 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Clearline Capital LP sold 21,351 shares of Western Digital, reducing its stake by 38.4% to 34,215 shares valued at $4.108 million at quarter-end.
• Insider selling has been heavy recently — insiders disposed of 92,795 shares (about $24.3 million) in the last 90 days, including a 36,926‑share sale by director Matthew Massengill; insiders now own 0.18% of the company.
• Western Digital posted an earnings beat (Q EPS $2.13 vs. $1.93) with revenue up 25.2% to $3.02B, and benefits from bullish analyst coverage, a $4.0B share‑repurchase authorization and strong AI/cloud HDD demand driving recent share gains.

Clearline Capital LP reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 38.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,215 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 21,351 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP's holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the second 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 period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 551.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $9,616,638.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total value of $2,501,349.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 121,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,643,630.14. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,795 shares of company stock valued at $24,265,884. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $240.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $310.00 price target on Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $265.58.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $272.29 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.13. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $309.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.76.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

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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