Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Up 1.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Western Digital shares rose 1.4% to $456.81 in mid-day trading, while volume was 32% below the average session level.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $534.56 price target; recent targets range from $650 to $900.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including $3.56 adjusted EPS and $3.75 billion in revenue, with year-over-year revenue growth of 43.8%.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $461.98 and last traded at $456.81. 5,863,037 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 8,559,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $450.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $157.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 2.13. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $474.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Western Digital's 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, analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,437 shares of company stock valued at $11,461,345 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Western Digital

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.

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