Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Acquires New Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management opened a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter, buying 2,175 shares valued at about $588,000.
• Western Digital has seen continued institutional buying, with several other funds adding to or initiating positions, and institutions now own 92.51% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: multiple firms raised price targets or kept bullish ratings, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $520.32.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,175 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 7.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,698,000 after buying an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 229.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WDC. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Western Digital from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $520.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total value of $8,236,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,342,096. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $555.55 on Tuesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $65.24 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $558.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $376.88. The firm has a market cap of $191.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.17 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 3.58%.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: WDC slid in sympathy with the memory-chip sector after SK Hynix’s steep decline reignited concerns about valuations and near-term earnings in AI-related memory stocks. Western Digital Stock Drops: Why an Aggressive SK Hynix Reversal Is Shaking Up the Chip Sector
• Negative Sentiment: The broader group also weakened after reports that SK Hynix’s weak profit forecast and post-IPO reversal triggered selling across chip and storage names, including Western Digital. Micron, SanDisk, Western Digital Fall 6% as SK Hynix's Weak Outlook Rattles Memory Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said WDC was down in pre-market trading as investors dumped memory-chip stocks amid sector-wide weakness and rising geopolitical tension. Why Is Western Digital Stock (WDC) Falling in Pre-Market Today, 7/13/26?
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary also noted that global chip stocks were under pressure as investors reconsidered the sustainability of aggressive AI spending and related valuations. Intel, AMD, Sandisk, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital also announced it will report fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results on August 5, which keeps investor attention focused on upcoming earnings but does not by itself change the near-term trading setup. WD to Announce Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results on August 5, 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the selloff, some analysts remain constructive, citing strong demand and tight HDD supply as reasons Western Digital could still have upside if fundamentals hold. Why Analysts Are Betting Western Digital Stock Can Gain Another 30% from Here

Western Digital Profile

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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