Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 4.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Western Digital shares fell 4.3% on Wednesday, with trading volume running above average as the stock moved lower amid a broader selloff in memory and storage names.
• Recent weakness appears tied to sector-wide concerns, including a sharp drop in Korean chip stocks, renewed AI bubble/valuation worries, and a possible share-supply overhang from exchange transactions.
• Despite the pullback, Wall Street remains broadly bullish: several analysts raised price targets and the consensus rating is Moderate Buy, while the company also reported stronger-than-expected earnings and boosted its dividend.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) traded down 4.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $612.41 and last traded at $641.7280. 11,686,983 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 9,028,437 shares. The stock had previously closed at $670.75.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage stocks were hit by a sector-wide selloff, with Western Digital caught up in the decline after a sharp drop in Korean chip names and renewed AI bubble/valuation concerns. Western Digital (WDC) Stock Slides As AI Memory Selloff Hits Chipmakers
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also watching a potential share-supply overhang tied to Western Digital’s recent exchange transactions, which may be adding near-term pressure on the stock. Western Digital Slides as Chip Rout and Share-Swap Overhang Weigh on Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Western Digital in the context of Prime Day SSD/HDD promotions, but these were mostly consumer-deals pieces and do not appear to be a major stock-moving catalyst. This WD Blue SSD is almost 60% off at Best Buy - and I recommend it
• Neutral Sentiment: A Trefis piece suggested the stock may be entering a re-rating phase because of a structural shift in customer buying behavior, which is more of a longer-term bullish thesis than an immediate catalyst. The Quiet Contract Shift Before Western Digital Stock's Loud Re-Rating

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Western Digital to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $450.46.

Western Digital Stock Down 4.3%

The stock has a market cap of $221.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.31 and a beta of 2.13. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $501.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $335.98.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during 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%. Western Digital's revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Western Digital's payout ratio is 3.58%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 90,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,905,270.79. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,062,813.56. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,244,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 399.8% during 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. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,778,000 after buying an additional 4,068 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,270,000. Finally, WESPAC Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $793,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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