Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) dropped 5.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $419.54 and last traded at $435.38. 7,742,487 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 8,877,335 shares. The stock had previously closed at $459.44.
Key Stories Impacting Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.56 per share versus the $3.31 consensus estimate and revenue of $3.75 billion versus $3.70 billion. Revenue increased approximately 44% year over year, while management guided to fiscal first-quarter 2027 earnings of $3.85–$4.15 per share. WDC's Strong Q4 Raises the Stakes for Its Fiscal 2027 Product Ramp
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on AI-driven storage demand, citing accelerating earnings, cloud demand, and planned 40-terabyte product ramps. However, the bullish case depends on successful HAMR technology execution and continued data-center spending. Is WDC Still a Buy as Growth Surges but Valuation Stays Expensive?
- Neutral Sentiment: Management will participate in Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference on September 9. The presentation could provide updates on AI storage demand, product launches, and fiscal 2027 execution, but no new operating information was announced. WD to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
- Negative Sentiment: Memory stocks sold off after reports that Washington may allow Apple to source memory chips from Chinese suppliers. The possibility raises concerns about greater competition and potential pressure on U.S.-linked suppliers, including WDC. Memory Stocks Slide on Report Apple May Source Chinese Chips
- Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking is adding to the weakness after WDC’s substantial longer-term gains. Investors are also concerned that the stock’s premium valuation, concentration among cloud customers, and dependence on an aggressive product ramp leave limited room for execution disappointments. WDC Fell 11.6% in the Past Month
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WDC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $676.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $534.56.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Western Digital
Western Digital Stock Performance
The firm has a fifty day moving average of $552.24 and a 200-day moving average of $434.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 2.14.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.
Western Digital Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's payout ratio is 2.48%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,679 shares of company stock worth $11,451,605 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,578 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $147,275,000 after acquiring an additional 96,078 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,122,095 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $193,303,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $20,889,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,950 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Western Digital by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 342,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $59,040,000 after purchasing an additional 131,247 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.
About Western Digital
(
Get Free Report)
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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