Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Raised to Hold at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Western Digital received a "hold" rating upgrade from Sanford C. Bernstein, indicating a shift in market sentiment for the stock.
• Multiple analysts have set price targets ranging from $75.00 to $123.00, with an average consensus target price of $86.95.
• Despite recent insider sales, institutional investors maintain a strong interest, with 92.51% of the stock owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

WDC has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.68.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC traded up $1.48 on Tuesday, reaching $106.63. The company had a trading volume of 11,026,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,291,884. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $80.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.23. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $107.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The business's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,431 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,695,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 101.9% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 8,743 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 4,412 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 38,969 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 131,691 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $7,853,000 after buying an additional 11,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 100,610 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,999,000 after buying an additional 61,702 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.