HighVista Strategies LLC Sells 36,358 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• HighVista Strategies cut its Western Digital stake by 71.9%, selling 36,358 shares in Q3 and retaining 14,242 shares valued at about $1.71 million.
• Large institutional shifts saw new and expanded positions (WCM ~$791M, Norges Bank ~$220.7M, big increases at Fred Alger, Soroban and AQR) — institutional ownership is 92.51% — while insiders sold 92,795 shares (~$24.3M), including Director Matthew Massengill and CEO Irving Tan.
• Western Digital beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.13 vs. $1.93) with revenue up 25.2%, announced a $4.0 billion buyback and is marketing higher-capacity HDDs (40TB UltraSMR ePMR) to capitalize on AI/cloud storage demand, which has helped lift the stock.

HighVista Strategies LLC cut its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 71.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,242 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 36,358 shares during the quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter worth about $791,317,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $220,680,000. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 4,923.9% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $409,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339,225 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 175.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,071 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $78,347,000 after purchasing an additional 784,645 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 Activity

In other Western Digital news, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $9,616,638.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total value of $5,108,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 623,586 shares in the company, valued at $159,288,807.84. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 92,795 shares of company stock worth $24,265,884 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $265.58.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.3%

WDC stock opened at $272.29 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.75. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $309.90. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $255.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

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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