Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Western Digital shares reached a new 52-week high of $103.21, closing at $102.92, with significant trading volume of over 1.25 million shares.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Western Digital, with Barclays setting a target of $105.00 and several others adjusting theirs markedly, reflecting increasing confidence in the company's growth prospects.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.66 EPS against an estimate of $1.48, alongside a 30% year-over-year revenue increase, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.10.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $87.00 to $120.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Western Digital traded as high as $103.21 and last traded at $102.92, with a volume of 1258005 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $97.66.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WDC. Barclays lifted their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,121,547.78. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $654,333.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% 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 WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 4.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 131,691 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $7,853,000 after purchasing an additional 11,052 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 158.6% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 100,610 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $5,999,000 after purchasing an additional 61,702 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $37.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.69. The firm's fifty day moving average is $79.32 and its 200-day moving average is $58.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

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.