Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 87,914 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its Western Digital stake by 52.1%, selling 87,914 shares and retaining 80,861 shares valued at approximately $21.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Western Digital shares opened at $527.22, with a market capitalization of $181.72 billion and a 52-week range of $73.14 to $799.87. The stock’s valuation and sharp rally have increased sensitivity to earnings, guidance, demand and margin trends.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a MarketBeat consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $520.32, although recent ratings include both upgrades and downgrades. Insider selling and broader profit-taking across memory and storage stocks add near-term caution ahead of earnings.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 52.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,861 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 87,914 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $21,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 384,103 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 70.4% during the 4th 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 raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.0% during the 4th 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 worth $483,977,000 after purchasing an additional 159,167 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $527.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $73.14 and a 52-week high of $799.87. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $568.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.17.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 114,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,663,290.57. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,093 shares of company stock worth $2,751,337 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Fox Advisors lowered shares of Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.32.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly optimistic about Western Digital’s outlook, with recent price targets spanning approximately $500 to $900 and a reported median target of $575. The company’s strong earnings-surprise history also supports expectations for another quarterly beat. Are Wall Street Analysts Predicting Western Digital Stock Will Climb or Sink? Will Western Digital Beat Estimates Again?
• Positive Sentiment: Seagate Technology’s strong earnings report has increased investor interest in whether Western Digital can deliver a similar result, particularly after Western Digital’s previous quarter exceeded consensus estimates and management forecast further improvement in revenue, margins and earnings. Seagate Is Soaring After Its Strong Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s earnings release is the key near-term catalyst. The report could validate the company’s rally, but the sharp run-up means investors are likely to focus heavily on forward guidance, demand trends and margins. Is Western Digital Stock a Compelling Buy Ahead of Q4 Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: The broader memory and storage sector sold off, with Western Digital, Seagate, Micron and other chip names falling together as investors reassessed elevated semiconductor valuations, competition risks and the sustainability of the sector’s extraordinary gains. Memory Stocks Cool
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings de-risking and profit-taking appear to be weighing on WDC, while reported insider activity shows 157 sales and no purchases during the past six months. That pattern may reinforce caution, although insider sales do not necessarily indicate a change in business fundamentals. Western Digital Slides Ahead of Earnings

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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