Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading Up 5.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Western Digital shares rose 5.9% to $467.46, supported by a broader memory-sector rally and investor optimism about AI-driven data-center demand, HDD pricing and expanding margins.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $3.56 EPS and $3.75 billion in revenue, while issuing strong Q1 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85–$4.15.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $534.56, although substantial prior gains, a wide range of targets and recent insider selling present risks.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 5.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $468.19 and last traded at $467.46. Approximately 5,754,969 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 8,695,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $441.57.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Broad memory-sector rally: Strength in SK Hynix, Seagate and other memory names helped lift storage stocks. Investors appear to be betting that strong AI infrastructure demand will support pricing and earnings across the sector. SK Hynix Surges 7% as Memory Bid Widens Beyond NAND; Seagate Rallies 5%
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven storage outlook: Western Digital’s exposure to data-center demand, rising hard-disk-drive pricing and expanding margins supports the bullish case. Its latest quarterly results also exceeded analyst expectations for both earnings and revenue, while management’s current-quarter EPS guidance remains strong. WDC Stock's Big Rally: Buy, Sell, or Hold After a 70% 6-Month Surge?
• Positive Sentiment: Limited near-term competitive threat: An analysis argues that advances by China’s memory industry may not immediately pressure Western Digital because capacity is reportedly committed under binding, multiyear contracts. That could help protect pricing and margins in the near term. Why China’s Memory Chip Breakthrough Won't Crash the Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and earnings expectations: WDC has already gained substantially over the past six months, making the stock more dependent on continued earnings upgrades and strong guidance. Analysts remain constructive overall, but the large range of price targets signals considerable uncertainty. WDC Stock's Big Rally: Buy, Sell, or Hold After a 70% 6-Month Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Recent filings show substantial selling by company insiders, including a director’s sale of approximately $2.5 million in shares. While not evidence of deteriorating operations, the activity can weigh on sentiment after a major rally. Western Digital Falls as Sector Weakness and Insider Selling Weigh on Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings hesitation: WDC remained below its level immediately following the latest earnings report, indicating that investors may already have priced in much of the AI and pricing recovery story. Western Digital Down Since Last Earnings Report

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho set a $590.00 price target on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective 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 given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Up 5.9%

The business's fifty day moving average is $508.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $445.56. The firm has a market cap of $161.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.13.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider directly owned 112,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,210 shares of company stock worth $10,440,960. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.

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.

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