Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 1.7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Western Digital shares fell 1.7% in midday trading, with the weakness appearing largely sector-driven as memory/storage stocks sold off on a broader risk-off move.
• Despite the dip, sentiment remains supported by bullish analyst coverage and optimism around AI-driven demand for memory products, with several firms recently raising price targets or reiterating buy ratings.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also raised its dividend from $0.13 to $0.15 per share, while insider selling and high stock volatility may still weigh on near-term sentiment.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) was down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $480.87 and last traded at $517.72. Approximately 7,205,911 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 8,833,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $526.93.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi remained bullish on Western Digital (WDC), adding to a string of favorable analyst views that support the longer-term outlook for the stock. Citi Remains Bullish on Western Digital Corporation (WDC) – Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Earlier this week, WDC rallied alongside other memory stocks on expectations for strong AI-driven demand and tighter memory supply, with analysts lifting price targets and seeing potential upside from the AI infrastructure cycle. Memory Stocks Sandisk (SNDK), Seagate (STX), and Western Digital (WDC) Surge on AI-Driven Demand Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change in reported shares short, so this does not appear to be a new bearish catalyst for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: WDC remains a highly watched and volatile stock, drawing attention from traders and Zacks users, which can amplify intraday moves but is not a fundamental driver on its own. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital (WDC) is falling along with Micron and other memory/storage names as the group gets hit by a midday risk-off move, suggesting today’s weakness is largely sector-driven rather than company-specific. Micron Sinks 6%, Western Digital Falls 5% but SanDisk Holds Steady
• Negative Sentiment: Insider-trading data highlighted only sales over the past six months, which may add a modest overhang to sentiment even though it is not a direct near-term catalyst. Western Digital Stock (WDC) Opinions on Strong Performance and Note Exchanges

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $433.29.

Western Digital Price Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $427.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.34. The stock has a market cap of $178.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91 and a beta of 2.13.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The business's revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 3.58%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total transaction of $235,699.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 116,643 shares in the company, valued at $63,640,420.80. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 853.8% in the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 124 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 132 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 80.2% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 146 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

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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