Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell about 4% intraday to $463.91 on Thursday despite a strong quarter (EPS $2.72 vs. $2.39 expected, revenue $3.34B, +45.5%) and guidance of $3.10–$3.40 for Q4 2026.
• Analysts are bullish—multiple firms raised price targets and reiterated buys as AI/data‑center demand and NAND/SSD supply tightness bolster revenue and margins; consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $395.83 average target amid wide individual estimates.
• Insider selling (CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares under a 10b5‑1 plan and other executives have sold recently) may add near‑term selling pressure despite the company’s positive operational backdrop.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) shares dropped 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $450.28 and last traded at $463.91. Approximately 7,127,581 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 9,342,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $483.15.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are lifting price targets and reiterating buy calls as AI/data‑center storage demand ramps, supporting upside expectations for revenue and margins. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Street upgrades and price‑target increases (example: BofA raised its PT after Q3 results), reflecting upward revisions to earnings estimates and reinforcing momentum. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/industry supply tightness (memory shortages tied to AI) could support pricing and margins for NAND/SSD vendors, a tailwind for Western Digital’s product mix and near‑term profitability. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate simplification — WDC has begun equity‑for‑equity exchanges to unwind its remaining SanDisk stake, a multi‑step separation that could clarify valuations over time but may create short‑term trading noise. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum and visibility: WDC is being added to top momentum/“strong buy” lists (Zacks and others), increasing retail and quant interest but not changing fundamentals immediately. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Irving Tan executed a pre‑arranged sale (20,000 shares) and other executives sold shares recently; while planned trades are common, they can prompt profit‑taking and add near‑term supply. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider reductions were reported (e.g., Vidyadhara Gubbi), and media coverage of executive sales may amplify short‑term selling pressure. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Western Digital to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. New Street Research set a $250.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on Western Digital to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Western Digital from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $395.83.

Western Digital Stock Down 4.0%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $321.98 and a 200 day moving average of $239.79. The firm has a market cap of $159.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.10.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company'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. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 8.82 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. This is a boost from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Western Digital's payout ratio is 2.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total value of $8,236,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 598,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,342,096. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total value of $2,071,470.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 90,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,905,270.79. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 60,459 shares of company stock valued at $19,883,236. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Western Digital by 12.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,317 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $6,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA purchased a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter worth $641,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter worth $34,244,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 9,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 4,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. boosted its position in Western Digital by 399.8% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 32,487 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,900,000 after purchasing an additional 25,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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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