Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Shares Down 10.2% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Seagate shares fell 10.2% to $848.99 on unusually heavy trading after CEO William D. Mosley sold 30,000 shares worth approximately $27.7 million under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with 22 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $986 price target. Seagate also recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, supported by strong AI-related storage demand.
• Investors face longer-term uncertainty as the stock has surged more than 270% over the past year and potential increases in Toshiba’s HDD production could ease supply shortages, pressure pricing, and intensify competition.

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 10.2% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $791.75 and last traded at $848.99. Approximately 13,511,547 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 210% from the average daily volume of 4,352,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $945.57.

Specifically, CEO William D. Mosley sold 18,998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $914.67, for a total value of $17,376,900.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 373,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $341,272,523.70. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO William D. Mosley sold 11,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.60, for a total transaction of $10,293,471.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 362,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,788,244.80. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Seagate Technology from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Seagate Technology from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Wedbush increased their target price on Seagate Technology from $825.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,300.00 target price on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Seagate Technology from $1,035.00 to $1,187.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $986.00.

Seagate Technology News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Seagate Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI data-center growth continues to support demand for high-capacity hard drives, and Seagate has benefited from record margins and capacity that was reportedly close to fully allocated. The company remains positioned to supply the rapidly expanding need to store AI-generated data. AI Needs Massive Storage. Seagate Is Ready
• Positive Sentiment: Seagate’s recent operating momentum has been substantial: quarterly revenue and earnings exceeded expectations, with revenue rising strongly year over year. That performance demonstrates the benefit of tight industry supply and robust AI-related demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Seagate’s stock had already risen more than 270% over the past year, prompting debate over whether its valuation fully reflects the AI-storage opportunity. Investors are weighing continued demand growth against the risk that the current shortage-driven earnings surge is temporary. Seagate Is Selling Into a Shortage. What Happens When It Ends?
• Negative Sentiment: Toshiba reportedly plans to double HDD production capacity for drives used in AI data centers during fiscal 2027, while other reports described an ambition to substantially increase market share. The potential influx of competing supply threatens to reduce scarcity, limit future price increases, and intensify competition for Seagate and Western Digital. Seagate Stock and Western Digital Tumble as AI Shortage Shows Signs of Easing

Seagate Technology Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $193.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.17 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $854.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $776.28.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The data storage provider reported $5.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.10 by $0.61. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 26.11% and a return on equity of 369.98%. The company had revenue of $3.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 48.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Seagate Technology has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 7.100-7.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 35.7 EPS for the current year.

Seagate Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 24th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Seagate Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seagate Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,081 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $20,343,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Seagate Technology by 163.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,940 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,802,000 after buying an additional 2,444 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its position in Seagate Technology by 1,988.5% in the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 543 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Altar Rock LLC acquired a new position in Seagate Technology during the second quarter worth $260,000. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 137.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 140 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

Seagate Technology Holdings plc is a data storage technology company that designs, manufactures and supplies solutions for storing, managing and accessing digital information. Its product portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs), including high-capacity drives used in cloud data centers, enterprise environments, surveillance systems, network-attached storage and personal computing.

The company also offers solid-state drives (SSDs), storage systems, external storage products and related services.

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