Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Proficio Capital Partners initiated a 2,874-share Western Digital position worth approximately $1.84 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of WDC’s outstanding shares.
• Western Digital reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion and EPS of $3.56, beating analyst expectations. Growth is being supported by AI, cloud and data-center storage demand.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, though insider selling, valuation concerns and potential supply-chain impacts from Iran-related sanctions remain risks.

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,874 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,836,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,340,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $478,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $33,527,000. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $25,566,000. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $2,114,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of WDC stock opened at $468.88 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $538.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $438.22. The company has a market capitalization of $161.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $60,663,290.57. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 24,634 shares of company stock worth $11,357,073 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital disclosed exchange agreements covering approximately $191 million of its 3.00% convertible notes due 2028. The transaction will provide holders with cash and shares, potentially reducing debt, although the stock component could create some dilution. The exchanges are expected to close on or after September 2. Western Digital convertible notes article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to see support from AI, cloud and data-center demand. Western Digital recently reported quarterly revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.56 versus the $3.31 consensus. Management’s next-quarter outlook also points to continued strong growth. Western Digital debt exchange and AI demand analysis
• Positive Sentiment: A hammer chart pattern suggests technical support after the stock’s recent decline, while upward earnings-estimate revisions may improve the likelihood of a near-term rebound. Western Digital bottoming pattern article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a median recent price target of approximately $597.50. However, targets vary widely, reflecting uncertainty around valuation and execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is assessing potential effects from new U.S. sanctions related to Iran, including possible compliance costs, supply-chain disruptions and impacts on contract manufacturing or shipments. Western Digital Iran sanctions exposure article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity has been heavily weighted toward sales, including transactions by executives and directors. The reported sales were made under pre-arranged trading plans, reducing their significance, but they remain a potential overhang for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader caution toward highly valued AI and memory stocks, ahead of Nvidia’s earnings, and concerns about potential Chinese memory competition could pressure sector valuations and future pricing.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Fox Advisors downgraded Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $676.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $534.56.

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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