Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 5.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Western Digital shares fell 5.3% on Wednesday, trading as low as $484.50 after closing at $517.72 the previous day. Volume was lighter than usual, with about 5.9 million shares changing hands versus an average of 8.8 million.
• The decline appeared tied to a broader selloff in memory and semiconductor stocks, with Western Digital moving lower alongside Micron during a risk-off market session driven by geopolitical and macro uncertainty.
• Despite the pullback, analysts remain relatively optimistic: several firms recently raised price targets on WDC, and the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $433.29.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 5.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $484.50 and last traded at $490.09. Approximately 5,926,347 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 8,808,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $517.72.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi remains bullish on Western Digital, suggesting analysts still see upside or a favorable setup despite the recent weakness. Citi Remains Bullish on Western Digital Corporation (WDC) – Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is trending with investors, which can reflect renewed interest in the stock after its strong earnings and upbeat guidance from late April.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles highlight Western Digital as part of the broader AI and chip market discussion, keeping the stock on traders’ radar but without a clear company-specific catalyst. Marvell, Micron, Sandisk, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital shares fell with Micron and other memory stocks as investors sold semiconductor names during a risk-off session tied to geopolitical and macro uncertainty. Skyworks Solutions, Western Digital, and Teradyne Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know
• Negative Sentiment: Another market note said memory and storage stocks were broadly “taking it on the chin,” with Western Digital declining alongside Micron while SanDisk held up better. Micron Sinks 6%, Western Digital Falls 5% but SanDisk Holds Steady

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Western Digital to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on Western Digital from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three 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 a consensus price target of $433.29.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $168.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26 and a beta of 2.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $431.98 and a 200-day moving average of $300.90.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The firm's revenue 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 research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total value of $235,699.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,643 shares in the company, valued at $63,640,420.80. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $788,729,000. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 4,923.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $409,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339,225 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 period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $221,800,000. Finally, Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $350,403,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.