Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading 2.2% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Western Digital shares rose 2.2% on Friday, trading above the prior close on heavier-than-normal volume. The move came amid ongoing volatility in tech and semiconductor stocks rather than a major company-specific announcement.
• Sentiment around WDC remains supported by its role in AI infrastructure growth, with analysts highlighting long-term demand for memory and storage products. Several firms have raised price targets, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $520.32.
• Western Digital recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.12 to $0.15. However, insiders have been selling shares, and the stock has also faced pressure from broader sector weakness and competitive concerns.

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) rose 2.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $492.93 and last traded at $477.22. Approximately 11,656,373 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 9,052,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $466.81.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital was highlighted as one of the top memory stocks to own as AI infrastructure expands globally, with articles noting that rising AI data demand should support long-term HDD and storage growth. 4 Top-Ranked Memory Stocks to Buy as AI Infrastructure Expands Globally
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to strong revenue outlooks, margin expansion, and earnings growth for WDC, reinforcing the view that demand from AI infrastructure could drive further upside over time. Everyone's Buying NVIDIA, but 2 Smaller AI Stocks Could Soar Higher
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary says tech and momentum stocks are experiencing extreme volatility, which helps explain the sharp swings in WDC despite no major new company-specific announcement. The Tech Shakeout: Market Extremes & Gavin Baker's Bold Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also frames WDC’s move as part of a sector-wide selloff in memory and storage names, with investors reassessing how durable the AI-driven rally will be ahead of the company’s next earnings report. Why Is Western Digital Stock Falling on Thursday?
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital has been caught in a broader semiconductor selloff, with chip and storage stocks under pressure from profit-taking and rotation out of high-flying AI trades. Nasdaq Slips as Chip Stocks Come Under Pressure
• Negative Sentiment: WDC shares were also pressured after reports of a new Chinese memory-rival IPO filing, which added competitive concerns to an already fragile sentiment backdrop. Western Digital Stock Tumbles as CXMT Targets $10 Billion Shanghai IPO

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price target on Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $685.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $520.32.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $164.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $560.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $383.94.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 3.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,813.56. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction of $8,236,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares in the company, valued at $246,342,096. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $2,270,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 75.4% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 9,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 4,068 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $793,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Western Digital by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,122,095 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $193,303,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the period. Finally, CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,889,000. Hedge funds and other 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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