Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Up 1.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) shot up 1.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $589.65 and last traded at $563.32. 5,268,697 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 9,017,118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $555.55.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several notes argue Western Digital and other memory stocks look attractive after the recent sell-off, citing AI demand, improving pricing trends, and lower valuations. Why You Must Buy These 4 Memory Stocks After the Recent Sell-Off
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat on WDC, with one report saying the stock could have another 30% upside because of strong demand. Why Analysts Are Betting Western Digital Stock Can Gain Another 30% from Here
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital has also been benefiting from AI-driven storage demand and tight HDD supply conditions, which supports the longer-term earnings outlook. Why Western Digital (WDC) Is Benefiting From AI-Driven Storage Demand and Tight HDD Supply Conditions
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital plans to report fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results on August 5, which could become a major near-term catalyst, but it is not a direct driver today. WD to Announce Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results on August 5, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: WDC was under pressure earlier in the week as a SK Hynix-driven memory sector selloff hit chip stocks, highlighting how sensitive Western Digital remains to swings in memory sentiment. SK Hynix’s record plunge drags down global chip stocks

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $520.32.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.4%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $558.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $376.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $788,729,000. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 4,923.9% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $409,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339,225 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake 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 worth $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth $221,800,000. Finally, Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $350,403,000. 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.