Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 3.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Western Digital shares fell 3.2% to $527.22, below the 50-day moving average of $568.03 but well above the 200-day average of $408.97. The stock has a $181.72 billion market capitalization and a P/E ratio of 31.48.
• The company reported strong quarterly momentum, with revenue up 45.5% year over year to $3.34 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.72, beating expectations of $2.39. Analysts anticipate continued earnings growth, supported by improving storage demand and a favorable read-through from Seagate’s results.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Western Digital has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with recent price targets ranging from $575 to $800, although the average target cited by MarketBeat is $520.32. Insiders have sold shares recently, but institutional investors own a substantial 92.51% of the company.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) shares were down 3.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $501.27 and last traded at $527.22. Approximately 8,240,419 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 8,920,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $544.84.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s prior quarter showed strong momentum: revenue increased 45.5% year over year to $3.34 billion, while adjusted earnings of $2.72 per share exceeded the $2.39 consensus estimate. Analysts expect another year-over-year improvement in the upcoming report. Will Western Digital Beat Estimates Again
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s earnings-surprise history and improving revenue, gross-margin, and earnings outlook support expectations for another potential beat. Seagate Technology’s strong earnings report also provided a favorable read-through for the data-storage market. Seagate Earnings and Western Digital
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly constructive, with recent price targets ranging from $500 to $900 and a reported median target of $575. Several analysts continue to cite the company’s strong outlook despite its substantial run-up. Western Digital Analyst Outlook

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price target on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Western Digital from $685.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.32.

Western Digital Trading Down 3.2%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $568.03 and a 200 day moving average of $408.97. The company has a market capitalization of $181.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 114,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,663,290.57. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,093 shares of company stock valued at $2,751,337 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $456,884,000 after purchasing an additional 384,103 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $512,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228,661 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,809,409 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $483,977,000 after purchasing an additional 159,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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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