Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Vidyadhara Gubbi Sells 10,148 Shares

Key Points

• Insider sale: Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 10,148 shares on March 4 at an average price of $270.31 for roughly $2.74M, trimming their stake by 8.6% to 107,794 shares (valued at about $29.14M).
• Earnings beat and AI demand: Western Digital reported $2.13 EPS vs $1.93 expected and $3.02B revenue (up 25.2% YoY), and analysts are increasingly bullish as AI-driven nearline/HDD demand supports bullish revenue visibility.
• Dividend and valuation note: The company declared a $0.125 quarterly dividend (ex-div March 5) with a 0.2% yield; the stock trades near $259 with a market cap of ~$87.8B and a P/E around 26, though some caution on cyclical/valuation risks despite heavy institutional ownership.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total value of $2,743,105.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 107,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,137,796.14. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded down $2.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $259.03. The stock had a trading volume of 6,283,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,433,089. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $309.90. The company has a market capitalization of $87.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $245.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.68.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 5.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,282,393 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $5,196,484,000 after buying an additional 243,177 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,305,289 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $593,045,000 after acquiring an additional 186,030 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $791,317,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Western Digital by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,535,972 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $354,247,000 after purchasing an additional 431,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $788,729,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investor bullishness on AI-driven, high-capacity nearline storage: multiple reports highlight that AI video and cloud AI workloads are materially increasing demand for HDD capacity and that WDC has strong visibility into hyperscaler bookings and sold-out 2026 capacity. Western Digital: AI's Unsung Storage Backbone
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable analyst and ranking momentum: coverage has tilted bullish with many buy/overweight ratings and high multi-hundred dollar price targets, and Zacks lists WDC among top AI-related names — supporting longer-term re-rating narratives. 3 Red Hot AI Stocks Sporting Favorable Zacks Ranks: SNDK, WDC, TER
• Positive Sentiment: Balance-sheet and strategic simplification: after spinning off its flash business, WDC redeemed senior notes, simplified capital structure, and refocused product branding (G-DRIVE) — moves that reduce leverage and clarify the company's standalone HDD story. Western Digital Refines Capital Structure And Brand Focus After Spin Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation reassessment amid volatility: some investors are re-checking WDC’s valuation after big recent swings — positive revenue/net-income trends are balanced against a higher price multiple and elevated expectations for AI storage growth. Western Digital (WDC) Valuation Check After Recent Share Price Volatility And AI Storage Growth Expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer-comparison and sector flow: articles comparing WDC to Seagate note both names were swung by the sector sell-off and subsequent bounce — positioning versus peers will matter for relative performance. Western Digital vs Seagate After the Sell-Off: One Storage Rival Is a Clear Winner
• Negative Sentiment: Cyclical and macro risk warnings: analysts and commentary caution that storage is cyclical — sell-offs tied to macro/geopolitical shocks (e.g., Iran-related risk) can quickly reverse sentiment even when demand fundamentals look strong. Western Digital: Don't Get Fooled By The Cycle
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and concentrated flows: reporting shows substantial insider sales and mixed institutional repositioning, which can sap confidence during pullbacks. Western Digital (WDC) jumps 8% as investors refocus on AI-driven storage demand after recent pullback

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WDC. Argus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Western Digital from $197.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $265.58.

About Western Digital

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.

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