Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading Up 1.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Western Digital shares rose 1.2% to $416.97, despite trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Trading volume was 16% below the average.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with adjusted EPS of $3.56 and revenue of $3.75 billion, beating estimates and marking 43.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Analyst sentiment remains a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $534.56, although several firms recently downgraded the stock or reduced their targets. Western Digital also declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend.

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) rose 1.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $428.14 and last traded at $416.97. 7,211,223 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 8,591,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $411.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WDC. UBS Group dropped their price target on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Fox Advisors cut Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Western Digital from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $143.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 2.13. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $487.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $455.19.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's payout ratio is 2.48%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, 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 sold a total of 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 112.8% during the second quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 3.5% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,263 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $11,026,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 480.4% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 296 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $384,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in Western Digital by 1.3% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 24,252 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $15,490,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.