Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by Arkadios Wealth Advisors

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors cut its Western Digital stake by 17.3% in the first quarter, selling 6,631 shares and retaining 31,688 shares valued at $8.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of WDC.
• Western Digital is benefiting from strong AI, data-center and hard-drive demand, tighter supply expectations and a broader memory-stock rally. However, competition from China and sector volatility remain risks.
• Analysts remain bullish ahead of earnings: several firms raised price targets, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average target of $520.32. The upcoming report will test whether demand and pricing strength are driving higher margins and guidance.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors decreased its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,688 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 6,631 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors' holdings in Western Digital were worth $8,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, BOKF NA grew its stake in Western Digital by 6,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 272 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Memory stocks rallied across the market, with the Roundhill Memory ETF and semiconductor indexes also advancing. Western Digital participated in the sector-wide rebound as investors returned to AI and data-center hardware names. Memory Stocks Surge. SanDisk Tops S&P 500 Gainers
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary argued that a semiconductor oversupply cycle is unlikely before 2028 because the physical infrastructure needed to create excess capacity is not yet available. That view supports continued pricing power and demand for memory and storage products. Top Chip Analyst on Semiconductor Oversupply
• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand for hard drives and tighter global supply expectations are improving the outlook for Western Digital’s revenue, margins and cash generation. Positive results from Seagate also boosted confidence in Western Digital as a storage-industry peer. Why Is Western Digital Stock Surging?
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s upcoming earnings report is the next major catalyst. Investors will assess whether AI-driven demand, pricing and supply constraints are translating into higher margins and favorable guidance; Wall Street currently expects year-over-year earnings growth. Western Digital Reports Next Week
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns remain about competition from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies following its strong market debut, while the broader memory trade has experienced sharp volatility. These factors could pressure valuations if investors begin to expect supply growth or weaker pricing.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 808 shares worth approximately $428,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale represented only 0.70% of her holdings, making it a limited negative signal. Western Digital Insider Sale

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $520.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total value of $2,071,470.06. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,905,270.79. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,767 shares of company stock valued at $4,822,807 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Trading Up 15.4%

WDC opened at $533.04 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $73.14 and a twelve month high of $799.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.73 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82 and a beta of 2.11. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $566.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $406.62.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Company 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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