Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 4.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Western Digital shares fell 4.4% to $460.93 amid a broader storage-sector selloff driven by higher Treasury yields, rising oil prices and pressure on high-multiple technology stocks.
• The company’s fundamentals remain strong: quarterly revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, EPS beat estimates at $3.56, and fiscal Q1 2027 EPS guidance was set at $3.85–$4.15, supported by AI and data-center storage demand.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, although price targets vary widely. Recent insider selling and valuation sensitivity may create near-term caution despite several analysts raising targets.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 4.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $456.75 and last traded at $460.93. 4,497,937 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 8,631,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $482.28.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed its Buy rating and raised its price target to $740. Analyst Asiya Merchant cited AI-driven storage demand and supply constraints, suggesting substantial upside if data-center demand remains strong. Citi Buy Rating and Price Target Article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating results remain strong. Western Digital’s latest report showed revenue growth of approximately 44% year over year, earnings above analyst expectations, and fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.15. These results support the longer-term AI and data-center storage thesis.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly constructive, but valuation expectations vary. The stock has a median recent price target of $597.50, while targets range from $500 to $900. This indicates continued confidence in Western Digital’s growth prospects but also heightened sensitivity to execution and market conditions.
• Negative Sentiment: Storage stocks sold off across the sector. Western Digital declined alongside Seagate, Micron and SK Hynix as higher Treasury yields, rising oil prices and broader pressure on high-multiple technology stocks outweighed favorable analyst commentary. Memory Stocks Sector Selloff Article
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated insider selling may be adding to near-term caution. Recent filings show sales by multiple executives, including transactions conducted under Rule 10b5-1 plans. The sales do not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals, but the lack of reported insider purchases can weigh on sentiment when the sector is under pressure. Western Digital Insider Selling Article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WDC. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $496.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.83. The stock has a market cap of $158.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 2.13.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% 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 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ: WDC develops, manufactures and sells data storage products and solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises, businesses and consumers. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs), including high-capacity enterprise drives used in cloud and data center environments, as well as products for network-attached storage, surveillance and personal computing.

The company markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK and Ultrastar.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.