Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from "hold" to "strong-buy", joining other firms that have raised price targets and leaving the MarketBeat consensus rating at a "Moderate Buy" with a $395.83 average target.
• Western Digital reported a strong quarter—EPS $2.72 vs. $2.39 expected and revenue $3.34B (+45.5% YoY)—and issued Q4 2026 guidance of $3.10–$3.40 EPS, spurring analyst estimate upgrades.
• Despite bullish momentum and a 52‑week high near $484, insiders have sold roughly 53,679 shares (~$18M) in the last three months (insiders own 0.18%) while institutional investors hold about 92.51% of the stock.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.83.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $463.91 on Wednesday. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $43.88 and a 52-week high of $483.87. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $325.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $242.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.10.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total value of $2,743,105.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,137,796.14. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total value of $2,501,349.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,643,630.14. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,679 shares of company stock valued at $18,049,314. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,317 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $6,281,000 after acquiring an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $641,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,244,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 75.4% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 9,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 4,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 399.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 32,487 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,900,000 after acquiring an additional 25,987 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is 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: Analysts are lifting forecasts and price targets on stronger AI/data‑center storage demand; BofA and others raised targets and earnings estimates, supporting higher valuation expectations. BofA Lifts PT on Western Digital
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat and upward guidance momentum: recent earnings beats and upward EPS guidance revisions have prompted estimate upgrades from research shops (Zacks, others), underpinning bullish sentiment. Earnings Estimates Rising for WDC
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: WDC raised its quarterly payout to $0.15 (20% hike), signaling confidence and attracting yield‑sensitive and income‑plus‑growth investors, though yield remains small. Western Digital Dividend Increase
• Positive Sentiment: Share-swap to unwind SanDisk stake: WDC is exchanging Sandisk shares for WDC stock as it exits the remaining Sandisk position — a move that simplifies capital structure and may increase WDC’s pure‑play valuation. Western Digital Share Swap
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector supply dynamics: reporting suggests AI-driven memory tightness could keep pricing elevated (benefit to margins), while some consumer SSD discounts appear episodic — supportive but mixed for near‑term revenue mix. AI and Memory Prices
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: senior executives, including CEO Irving Tan and other officers, have sold shares recently (pre‑arranged plans and filings). Markets often view sizeable or clustered insider sales as a negative near term catalyst. Irving Tan Share Sale

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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