Insider Selling: Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells 684 Shares

Key Points

• Western Digital insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 684 shares for approximately $305,180 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing her stake by 0.61% to 112,146 shares.
• WDC shares fell 5.2% to $435.38 amid concerns about potential competition from Chinese memory suppliers, profit-taking and the stock’s elevated valuation.
• Despite the decline, Western Digital reported quarterly EPS of $3.56 versus the $3.31 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $534.56 price target.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 684 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.17, for a total transaction of $305,180.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 112,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,036,180.82. This trade represents a 0.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Western Digital Stock Down 5.2%

WDC traded down $24.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $435.38. 7,761,054 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,879,776. The company's fifty day moving average price is $552.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $434.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $76.70 and a 52-week high of $799.87.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest quarter showed strong momentum: revenue increased approximately 44% year over year, earnings exceeded expectations, and margins improved. Investors are now focused on the company’s fiscal 2027 product ramp, including planned 40TB drives and HAMR technology. WDC's Strong Q4 Raises the Stakes for Its Fiscal 2027 Product Ramp
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains a long-term growth driver for Western Digital, with analysts highlighting accelerating earnings and expanding storage requirements in data centers. Some commentary views the recent pullback as a potential opportunity, although expectations are high. WDC Fell 11.6% in the Past Month
• Neutral Sentiment: Management will participate in Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference on September 9. The webcast could provide updates on demand, fiscal 2027 execution and product launches, but the event is not an immediate earnings catalyst. WD to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Negative Sentiment: The primary pressure came from reports that Washington may allow Apple to source memory chips from Chinese suppliers. The possibility raised concerns about increased competition and weaker demand for established memory suppliers, weighing on Western Digital and other sector stocks. Memory Stocks Slide on Report Apple May Source Chinese Chips
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and valuation concerns are adding to the weakness. Although growth is accelerating, Western Digital trades at a premium after a substantial rally, leaving less room for execution missteps and increasing sensitivity to concerns about AI-related overinvestment, cyclicality and concentration among large cloud customers. Is WDC Still a Buy as Growth Surges but Valuation Stays Expensive?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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